HIGHLIGHTS

DEL61 VHP-AYODHYA-LD ADVANI-JOSHI L K Advani to attend Ram temple consecration ceremony VHP New Delhi BJP stalwart L K Advani, who was at the forefront of the Ram janmabhoomi movement, will attend the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, VHP president Alok Kumar said on Thursday.

Following are the top stories at 9.40 pm: NATION DEL111 DEF-LD ARMYCHIEF **** Situation along Northern border stable but sensitive: Army Chief Gen Pande New Delhi: Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Thursday said the situation along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh is ''stable'' but ''sensitive'' and asserted that the Indian troops are maintaining a ''very high state'' of operational preparedness to effectively deal with any eventualities. **** DEL61 VHP-AYODHYA-LD ADVANI-JOSHI **** L K Advani to attend Ram temple consecration ceremony: VHP New Delhi: BJP stalwart L K Advani, who was at the forefront of the Ram janmabhoomi movement, will attend the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, VHP president Alok Kumar said on Thursday. **** DEL97 IMD-PANCHAYAT-LD FORECAST **** Panchayat-level weather forecast from next week: IMD chief Mohapatra New Delhi: In a significant expansion of its coverage, the India Meteorological Department will provide panchayat-level weather forecast from next week, particularly to help small farmers plan farming better and cut down climate-induced losses, its chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said on Thursday. By Gaurav Saini and Sagar Kulkarni **** DEL96 AYODHYA-INVITEES **** Ram temple consecration: Family members of BR Ambedkar, Jagjivan Ram, Kanshi Ram among invitees New Delhi: Family members of Dalit icons B R Ambedkar, Jagjivan Ram, Kanshi Ram and other ''prominent people'' belonging to the scheduled castes are among those invited for the January 22 consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, according to sources. **** DEL99 CLEANLINESS-3RDLD SURVEY **** Swachh Survekshan: Indore named 'cleanest' city for 7th time, Surat emerges joint winner New Delhi: Indore bagged the cleanest city of India title for the seventh time in a row while Surat came out a joint winner for the top rank in the Central government's annual cleanliness survey, the results of which were announced Thursday. **** DEL90 NIA-BKI-BISHNOI-LD RAIDS **** NIA carries out raids in 6 states in crackdown on Babbar Khalsa International, Lawrence Bishnoi gang New Delhi: In a massive multi-state crackdown against the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and the Lawrence Bishnoi crime syndicate, the NIA raided 32 locations in north India on Thursday and seized illegal arms and ammunition, incriminating documents, digital devices and cash. **** BOM18 MH-RAM-AWHAD **** Another FIR against NCP leader Awhad over `Lord Ram was non-vegetarian' remark Thane: A First Information Report has been registered here against Nationalist Congress Party MLA Jitendra Awhad for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with his remark that Lord Ram was a nonvegetarian, an official said. **** CAL25 AS-HIMANTA-UCC **** Assam will be third state to introduce Uniform Civil Code: Himanta Guwahati: Assam will be the third state after Uttarakhand and Gujarat to introduce a Bill seeking a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and it will exempt the tribal communities from the ambit of the law, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said here on Thursday. **** MDS10 KA-COUSINS-ATTACK **** Mistaking cousins for interfaith couple, group attacks them in K'taka; 7 men, two minors held Belagavi (Karnataka): Seven men were arrested and two minors apprehended in a case of moral policing in which they allegedly assaulted two cousins whom they mistook to be an interfaith couple, in Belagavi, police said on Thursday. **** LEGAL LGD10 UP-HC-MATHURA **** Shahi Idgah row: Allahabad HC hears both parties, to pronounce order on modalities of survey later Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court on Thursday heard submissions of both the parties in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute and said it will pronounce the order on the modalities of a survey of the mosque complex later. **** LGD13 SC-AMU-MINORITY STATUS **** How does minority status matter when AMU continues to be institute of national importance, asks SC New Delhi: How does it matter for people whether the Aligarh Muslim University is a minority institution or not when it has continued to be an institute of national importance without the minority tag, the Supreme Court said on Thursday as it underlined that the intent of Article 30 of the Constitution is not to ''ghettoise the minority''. **** BUSINESS DEL105 BIZ-LD RUPEE **** Rupee rises 2 paise to close at 83.01 against US dollar Mumbai: The rupee appreciated 2 paise to close at 83.01 against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking its Asian peers and positive domestic equities. **** . FOREIGN FGN51 BANGLA-HASINA-LD OATH **** Sheikh Hasina sworn in as prime minister of Bangladesh for fifth term Dhaka: Sheikh Hasina was on Thursday sworn in as the prime minister of Bangladesh for the fifth term, days after her Awami League won an overwhelming majority in the general elections boycotted by the main opposition BNP and its allies. By Anisur Rahman **** FES36 PAK-CANDIDATE-KILLED **** Local leader of Imran Khan's party shot dead in northwest Pakistan Peshawar: A local leader of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party was shot dead on Thursday in Pakistan's restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, a day after an independent candidate contesting for the February 8 elections was killed in a similar incident. **** MNK MNK