HIGHLIGHTS AT 5 PM

Following are the top stories at 5 pm:

NATION

LGD15 SC-LD CAA Country going through difficult times, says SC as it refuses urgent hearing on CAA

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India S A Bobde on Thursday observed that the country is going through difficult times and there is so much violence going on as the Supreme Court refused urgent hearing on a plea seeking to declare the Citizenship Amendment Act as constitutional.

DEL67 JK-2NDLD ENVOYS Envoys in JK, get briefing from army, meet civil society members

Srinagar: A team of 15 envoys including the US Ambassador to India Kenneth I Juster arrived here on Thursday on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the first by diplomats since August last year when the state's special status was revoked and it was downsized to a union territory.

DEL66 JK-ENVOYS-MEA Criticism of envoys visit to J&K unfounded: MEA

New Delhi: The External Affairs Ministry on Thursday said the objective of the visit by foreign envoys to Jammu and Kashmir was for them to see first hand efforts to normalise the situation there and termed the criticism that it was a guided tour unfounded.

DEL69 MEA-US-IRAN Would like situation in Gulf to de-escalate as soon as possible: India

New Delhi: Amid tensions between the US and Iran over the killing of an Iranian military commander, India on Thursday said it would like the situation to de-escalate as soon as possible and was in touch with important players in the Gulf region.

CAL8 WB-MAMATA-LD SONIA "Ekla cholo re", says Mamata on CAA, NRC; leaves opposition a divided house

Kolkata: "If needed, I will fight alone," a livid Mamata Banerjee declared on Thursday in the West Bengal Assembly where she said she will boycott a meeting called by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on January 13 over campus violence and the CAA, exposing the opposition faultlines on the issues.

LGD10 SC-LD NIRBHAYA

Nirbhaya case: Death row convict Vinay Kumar Sharma moves curative plea in SC New Delhi: In a last ditch effort to escape the noose, Vinay Kumar Sharma, one of the four men sentenced to death in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court on Thursday.

DEL48 JNU-HRD DELEGATION Delhi Police takes JNUSU, JNUTA protestors to meet HRD officials

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Thursday took a delegation of JNU teachers and students to meet HRD officials, after they were stopped near Shastri Bhawan during a protest march over the January 5 violence on the university campus.

DEL68 BIZ-PM-3RDLD NITI PM calls for focussed effort to make India USD 5 trillion economy

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for a focussed effort to make India a USD 5 trillion economy in an interaction with economists, sector experts and successful young entrepreneurs ahead of the Union Budget for 2020-21.

DEL43 BIZ-STOCKS-CLOSE Sensex zooms 635 pts; Nifty reclaims 12,200

Mumbai: The BSE benchmark Sensex soared 635 points on Thursday as global investors heaved a sigh of relief after the US-Iran conflict appeared to cool off.

SPORTS

SPF19 SPO-BAD-2ND LD IND Saina, Sindhu enter quarterfinals of Malaysia Masters quarterfinals

Kuala Lumpur: Saina Nehwal and reigning world champion P V Sindhu produced dominating performances to progress to the women's singles quarterfinals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament here on Thursday.

SPD9 SPO-CRI-LD KULDEEP 2019 was tough, will try to plan better for every game in 2020: Kuldeep

Pune: Admitting that 2019 was a "tough year" for him, Indian left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav on Thursday said he has learnt from his mistakes and will work on more variations to surprise the batsmen, who seem to have decoded him. By Nikhil Bapat

FOREIGN

FGN24 WB-LD INDIA

Growth in India projected to 'decelerate' to 5% in 2019-2020: World Bank Washington: India's growth rate is projected to decelerate to five per cent in 2019-20 amid enduring financial sector issues, according to a World Bank report, which said the country's GDP was likely to recover to 5.8 per cent in the following financial year. By Lalit K Jha

FGN13 US-INDIA-LD OFFICIAL

Trump admin doesn't want to degrade India's defence capabilities: US official on CAATSA Washington: The Trump administration does not want to degrade India's defence capabilities, a senior US official has said, asserting that there will be a case-by-case analysis on where punitive measures under the CAATSA could be applied on countries buying significant military equipment from Russia. By Lalit K Jha.