HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 5 pm: NATION: DEL31 PAWAR-MODI Pawar meets PM New Delhi: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the backdrop of central agencies intensifying investigation against leaders of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi.

DEL23 PM-LD BJP On BJP foundation day, Modi says it stands for 'rashtra bhakti', rivals for 'parivar bhakti' New Delhi: Asserting that the BJP stands for ''rashtra bhakti'' and its rivals for ''parivar bhakti'', Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that people are gradually coming to the realisation that dynastic parties are the ''biggest enemies'' of democracy. DEL44 RSQ-JK-TERROR 87 civilians, 99 security personnel killed in JK since Article 370 scrapped: govt New Delhi: As many as 87 civilians and 99 security personnel have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, as compared to 177 civilians PAR15 LS-UKRAINE-2NDLD JAISHANKAR If India has chosen side, it is side of peace: Jaishankar on Ukraine New Delhi: Asserting that India is strongly against the Russia-Ukraine conflict, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said if New Delhi has chosen a side, it is the side of peace and for an immediate end to violence.

PAR16 LS-UKRAINE-JAISHANKAR-STUDENTS India in talks with some of Ukraine's neighbours for continuing education of evacuated students: Jaishankar New Delhi: India is in talks with countries like Hungary, Romania, Kazakhstan and Poland for continuing education of students evacuated from Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.

DEL30 BOMMAI-LD SITHARAMAN K'taka CM meets FM Sitharaman; discusses GST, pending state projects New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and requested fund clearance for the Upper Bhadra Project and advance approval of green energy corridor projects.

DEL37 AQ-HIJAB-INDIA Al-Qaeda chief uses Karnataka hijab row to target democracy in India New Delhi: Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri has used the recent Hijab controversy in Karnataka to target democracy in India, saying ''we must stop being deceived by the mirage of the pagan Hindu democracy''.

DEL43 UP-AMU-SUSPENSION Prof refers to 'rape' in Hindu myths, suspended by AMU for hurting religious sentiments Aligarh (UP): Aligarh Muslim University on Wednesday suspended a professor who referred to examples of “rape” in Hindu mythology during a forensic science class, provoking accusations of hurting religious sentiments.

MDS7 KA-GAURI LANKESH-TRIAL Trial in Gauri Lankesh killing to start from May 27 Bengaluru: More than four years after journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead by motorcycle-borne men outside her house here, the trial in the case is set to start from May 27, the prosecution lawyer said. PAR12 LS-4G BSNL to install 1.12 lakh towers for rolling out 4G across India New Delhi: The indigenous 4G telecom network will soon be rolled out across India with the BSNL planning to install about 1.12 lakh towers throughout the country, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

BOM6 MH-HC-MSRTC Resume duty by April 15: HC tells striking MSRTC employees Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the striking Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees to resume duty by April 15 and asked the corporation to take back its decision initiating disciplinary action against the errant workers.

DEL29 IMD-HEATWAVE Temperature to be higher than normal in northwest India, adjoining central India in April: IMD DG New Delhi: Northwest India and adjoining parts of central India are predicted to see “more intense and frequent heatwave” conditions in April, India Meteorological Department Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said on Wednesday.

BUSINESS: DEL35 BIZ-STOCKS-CLOSE Sensex tumbles 566 pts, Nifty drops 149 pts on profit taking in banking, IT shares Mumbai: Benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled 566 points to settle below the 60,000-level on Wednesday, dragged down by heavy selling in banking and IT stocks amid weak global trends.

LEGAL: LGD6 JK-HC-IMMIGRANTS J&K HC gives six weeks to govt for identification of illegal foreign immigrants Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has given six weeks to the government to identify immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh who are illegally staying in the Union Territory.

FOREIGN: FGN56 CHINA-PAK-POLITICS-REAX Ties with Pak 'rock solid'; political crisis won't affect cooperation, CPEC projects: China Beijing: Asserting that its ties with Pakistan are “unbreakable and rock solid”, China on Wednesday said the raging political crisis in Islamabad will not affect the overall cooperation between the all-weather allies as well as the projects under the USD 60 billion CPEC. By K J M Varma FGN55 UK-UKRAINE-AMBULANCES UK to donate fleet of ambulances for urgent care in Ukraine London: A fleet of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) ambulances will provide urgent care for those injured in Ukraine in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the UK government said on Wednesday. By Aditi Khanna FGN51 LANKA-LD POLITICS President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will not resign under any circumstances: Lanka Govt Colombo: Sri Lankan Government on Wednesday said that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will not resign under any circumstances and will face the current issues, as it defended the embattled leader's decision to enforce a state of emergency, which he later revoked after huge public protests demanded his resignation over the country's worst economic crisis.

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