HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9.15 pm:

NATION

DEL72 2NDLDALL ARMYCHIEF Army chief Rawat's comments on CAA, NRC protests triggers row; Opposition attacks him

(Eds: Updating with Army clarification) New Delhi, Dec 26 (PTI) Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat on Thursday found himself in the midst of a massive row after he publicly criticised people leading protests over the new citizenship law, saying leadership is not about guiding masses to carry out arson and violence across the country.

DEL57 POL-NRC-LDALL PARTIES

False propaganda by oppn on NRC: BJP; Cong alleges "sinister" agenda by BJP Srinagar/New Delhi: The planned updation of the National Population Register (NPR) sparked a fresh political slugfest on Thursday with the BJP accusing the opposition of carrying out a false propaganda on the National Register of Citizens(NRC) to malign the Modi government while the Congress alleged that the ruling party has a "sinister" agenda.

DEL82 UP-2NDLD CAA

Paramilitary forces, drones to be deployed to beef up security in UP for Friday prayers Lucknow: Security was beefed up and patrolling intensified in Uttar Pradesh to ensure peace ahead of the Friday prayers, keeping in mind the widespread violence that hit the state last week during protests against the amended citizenship law.

DEL58 CITIZENSHIP-2NDLD SHAH

Oppn led by Cong created confusion over CAA, misled people: Shah New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday accused the opposition of creating confusion over the Citizenship Amendment Act and spoiling the atmosphere in the national capital by misleading people, asserting that the time has come to "punish the 'tukde tukde' gang".

DEL47 CITIZENSHIP-BOLLYWOOD-APPEAL

Anti-CAA protests: Anurag Kashyap, Aparna Sen and others ask for judicial probe into UP violence New Delhi: Declaring that they don't support any form of vandalism, a group of film industry insiders, including Anurag Kashyap and Aparna Sen, on Thursday asked for an independent judicial probe into the violence against anti-CAA protesters in Uttar Pradesh.

DEL49 POL-LD RAHUL-BJP

Rahul master of lies; detention camps in Assam set up during Cong rule: BJP New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his liar jibe at the prime minister, dubbing him as "joothon ka sardar" (master of lies) and saying detention camps in Assam were set up when the Congress was in power both at the Centre and the state.

DEL31 CONG-NPR

BJP govt trying to bring NRC in garb of NPR: Cong New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday accused the BJP government of bringing the National Register of Citizens in the garb of the National Population Register and claimed that questions related to the NRC will be asked in the pre-test forms for the NPR.

DEL54 LDALL ECLIPSE

Thousands watch 'ring of fire' in decade's last solar eclipse, clouds hinder view in N India New Delhi: The Moon on Thursday slowly masked the Sun to leave just a burning ring of fire in what was the last solar eclipse of the decade, an astronomical phenomenon witnessed by thousands of scientists and spiritualists across India.

DEL74 DEF-AIRCRAFT-MiG27

IAF's MiG-27 to take to skies one last time on Friday New Delhi: The MiG-27, which proved to be an "ace attacker" during the 1999 Kargil War, will roar through the skies for one last time on Friday after serving the IAF for over three decades.

DEL60 AVI-AI-TICKET-AGENCIES

Air India stops issuing tickets on credit to govt agencies that owe it over Rs 10L: Official New Delhi: Debt-laden Air India has stopped issuing tickets on credit to officials of various government agencies such as the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, which owe it more than Rs 10 lakh each, a senior official of the national carrier said on Thursday.

CAL18 JH-SOREN-OATH-INVITATION

Hemant Soren to take oath as J'khand CM on Dec 29: Raj Bhavan Ranchi: Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu will administer the oath of office to chief minister-designate Hemant Soren at 2 pm on December 29, an official communique said here on Thursday.

MDS20 KL-SABARIMALA-PILGRIMS

Peaceful pilgrim season at Sabarimala; Temple rakes in Rs 156 cr revenue in first phase Sabarimala: The first leg of the 41-day annual pilgrim season of the famous Lord Ayyappa temple here comes to a close on Friday with the auspicious Mandala puja sans any protest over the women's entry issue unlike the turbulence witnessed last year.

FOREIGN

FGN14 CHINA-INDIA-MILITARY

India-China military ties 'improving', thanks to Modi, Xi efforts: PLA Beijing: China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) said on Thursday that its ties with the Indian military are "improving" with the strategic dialogue, practical cooperation and exchanges, "thanks" to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping. By K J M Varma

FGN13 PAK-SC-LD ARMY

Pak govt files review petition in army chief's extension case Islamabad: The Pakistan government on Thursday filed a review petition against the Supreme Court's decision about legislation on the extension of service of Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa. By Sajjad Hussain

BUSINESS

DEL48 BIZ-LD RUPEE

Rupee extends losses for 5th day, ends at 3-week low as high crude oil takes toll Mumbai: The rupee erased its early gains to settle down by 4 paise at a three-week low of 71.31 against the US currency on Thursday, marking its fifth straight day of losses amid heavy selling in domestic equities and steady rise in crude oil prices.

SPORTS

SPD21 SPO-BOX-SANGWAN-DOPE

Olympian Sumit Sangwan suspended for 1 year for failing dope test New Delhi: Former Asian silver medallist boxer Sumit Sangwan was on Thursday banned for one year by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for failing a dope test.