HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9.30 PM: NATION: DEL109 LDALL-UP-RESIGNATIONS UP polls: Another OBC leader quits Adityanath cabinet, SP 'welcomes' him; 2 MLAs switch to BJP Lucknow: In another jolt to the ruling BJP in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan resigned Wednesday from the Yogi Adityanath cabinet and appeared to be headed towards the Samajwadi Party.

DEL102 PB-LD KEJRIWAL Jobs, education, power in focus as AAP declares 10-point 'Punjab Model', CM face next week Chandigarh: The AAP Wednesday announced a 10-point ''Punjab Model'' that promises jobs to youths, ending drug menace and bringing justice in sacrilege cases, as Arvind Kejriwal asserted people will vote his party to power to break the ''partnership'' between the Congress and the Badals.

DEL86 MIB-TWITTER I&B Ministry Twitter account hacked briefly, restored New Delhi: The official Twitter account of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) was hacked for a brief time on Wednesday and was restored later.

DEL76 BIZ-LD CEL-PRIVATISATION Govt puts brakes on CEL privatisation after employees union approaches court New Delhi: The government has put on hold the privatisation of Central Electronics Ltd (CEL) after the employees union approached the court against the sale of the company to a little-known firm, a top official said Wednesday.

DEL75 BJP-ADITYANATH-SEAT BJP considering fielding Adityanath from Ayodhya, central election committee to take final call New Delhi: The BJP is considering fielding Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath from Ayodhya as its senior leaders meet to finalise candidates for the assembly polls starting from February 10.

BOM3 MH-KALICHARAN-ARREST Maha: Wardha police arrest Kalicharan Maharaj for remarks against Mahatma Gandhi Wardha: The Wardha police arrested Hindu religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj on Wednesday in connection with a case registered against him here in Maharashtra for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi.

DEL11 VIRUS-LD CASES Active COVID-19 cases in country highest in 211 days New Delhi: India added 1,94,720 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,60,70,510 which includes 4,868 cases of the Omicron variant, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

LEGAL: LGD24 SC-SUPERTECH-HOME BUYERS SC asks Supertech to put its house in order, refund amount to home buyers of twin towers by Jan 17 New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked realty major Supertech Ltd to put ''its house in order'' and refund the money of home buyers of its Emerald Court project along with interest by January 17 or face serious consequences. LGD12 UP-COURT-ACQUITTED UP minister, BJP MLA among 74 acquitted in 2014-Kanth violence case Moradabad: A special court here has acquitted all 74 accused, including UP Cabinet minister Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary and local BJP MLA Ritesh Kumar Gupta, for allegedly attacking policemen during the protest in Kanth area of the district in 2014.

LGD19 SC-2NDLD HATE SPEECH SC issues notice on plea seeking action on hate speeches made in Haridwar, Delhi New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court Wednesday asked the Centre, Delhi Police and Uttarakhand Police to respond to a plea seeking direction to ensure investigation and action against those who allegedly made hate speeches during two events held recently in Haridwar and the national capital.

LGD7 SC-LD SECURITY BREACH SC appoints panel headed by ex-judge Indu Malhotra to probe security breach during PM’s Punjab visit New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday appointed a five-member committee headed by former apex court judge Justice Indu Malhotra to probe the security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Punjab.

BUSINESS: DCM31 BIZ-WB-INDIA GROWTH World Bank retains India's economic growth forecast at 8.3 pc for 2021-22 New Delhi: The World Bank has retained India's economic growth forecast for the current fiscal at 8.3 per cent as the recovery is yet to become broad-based.

DCM25 BIZ-RESIDENTIAL PLOT-REPORT Residential plot prices appreciate 7pc annually since 2015; apartments' rate up 2 pc: Report New Delhi: Prices of residential plots across eight major cities have appreciated by an average of 7 per cent annually since 2015, while rates of apartments increased by 2 per cent, according to realty portal Housing.com. FOREIGN: FGN43 PAK-SAEED-BLAST-LD SENTENCE Pak court sentences 4 to death in case of blast outside Hafiz Saeed’s house Lahore: An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Wednesday sentenced four persons to death for their role in triggering a powerful car bomb blast outside Mumbai attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed's house here in June last year that killed three people, according to a court official. BY M Zulqernain FGN8 UN-INDIA-MUSLIM-APPS 'Sulli Deals', form of hate speech in India, must be condemned: UN official United Nations/Geneva: Harassment of Muslim women in India through social media apps such as ''Sulli Deals'' must be condemned and prosecuted as soon as they occur, a UN Special Rapporteur has said. By Yoshita Singh PTI VN VN VN