HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 pm:

TOP NEWS:

DEL111 2NDLD CORONAVIRUS India to evacuate its nationals from Wuhan, makes formal request to China for facilitation: Govt

New Delhi/Vadodara: As China scrambles to contain the fast-spreading Coronavirus, which has already claimed more than 100 lives there, India is planning to evacuate its nationals, mostly students, stuck in Wuhan, the epicentre of the viral outbreak.

CAL27 SHARJEEL-2NDLD ARREST Sharjeel Imam arrested in Bihar, handed over to Delhi police on transit remand

Jehanabad: Anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam, on the run after sedition charges were slapped against him for allegedly making inflammatory speeches, was on Tuesday arrested from Bihar's Jehanabad district where a court handed him over to a Delhi police team on transit remand.

DEL101 DL-2NDLD VERMA-SHAHEEN BAGH BJP MP says Shaheen Bagh protesters can enter homes to rape and kill, provokes outrage

New Delhi: BJP MP Parvesh Verma on Tuesday raised the spectre of Shaheen Bagh's anti-CAA protesters in their lakhs entering homes to rape and kill women, provoking opposition outrage as the Delhi election chief submitted a report on his remarks to the Election Commission.

NATION DEL107 EC-DL-THAKUR-NOTICE

EC issues show cause notice to Union min Anurag Thakur over controversial remark New Delhi: The Election Commission on Tuesday issued a show cause notice to Union Minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur over his alleged provocative slogan at an election rally here, sources in the poll panel said.

CAL25 WB-LD MAMATA CAA

Ready for talks with PM, but first withdraw CAA : Mamata Kolkata: West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday said she is ready for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of Citizenship Amendment Act but the Centre has to first withdraw the contentious law.

DEL85 PM-LD NCC

CAA to fulfill old promises to religious minorities in neighbouring countries: Modi New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said his government brought in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act to correct "historical" injustices and recalled the Nehru-Liaquat pact to assert that the law fulfills India's "old promise" to religious minorities in neighbouring countries.

DEL114 RJ-3RDLD-RAHUL

Modi govt destroyed India's image, deterred investors: Rahul Jaipur: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of destroying India's image as a country of peace and harmony and urged the youth not to let their voice be suppressed.

DEL79 MEA-US-LD ENVOY

Taranjit Singh Sandhu appointed India's ambassador to US New Delhi: Seasoned diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu has been appointed as India's Ambassador to the US, replacing Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday.

CAL30 WB-DHANKHAR-3RD LD CU

Guv leaves CU convocation venue following students' protest, VC pleads helplessness Kolkata: Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was on Tuesday forced to leave the Calcutta University's annual convocation in a huff after some students showed him black flags and shouted 'go back' for his pro-CAA stance, calling him an "agent" of the BJP.

LEGAL

LGD51 SC-3RD LD NIRBHAYA Nirbhaya case: Expeditious decision on mercy plea can't be ground to assail rejection, Centre to SC

New Delhi: "Expeditious decision" by the President on mercy petition cannot be a ground to challenge its rejection by one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

LGD45 SC-LD GUJARAT RIOTS SC grants bail to 15 convicts in 2002 Sardarpura riots case post-Godhra

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday granted bail to 15 convicts, serving life term in the 2002 Sardarpura post-Godhra riots case in which 33 Muslims were burnt alive and asked them to stay outside Gujarat, in two cities of Madhya Pradesh, and do community service.

LGD49 SC-LD CHEETAH SC allows govt to bring African cheetah to India

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the government to introduce the African cheetah to a suitable habitat in India on an experimental basis to see whether it can adapt to Indian conditions.

BUSINESS DEL108 BIZ-STARTUPS-RATAN TATA

Start-ups that burn investor money, disappear won't get second chance: Ratan Tata Mumbai: Industrialist Ratan Tata on Tuesday warned that start-ups which burn investors' money and disappear will not get a second or a third chance.

DCM16 BIZ-ANTIDUMPING

India begins dumping probe into chemical imported from China New Delhi: India has initiated a probe into an alleged dumping of a chemical used in dyes and pharma industries from China following a complaint from a domestic player.

FOREIGN

FGN43 UK-LD 2ND HUAWEI UK allows Huawei to help build its 5G network despite US pressure

London: Britain on Tuesday announced that it will allow Chinese telecom giant Huawei to help build the country's next generation of super-fast 5G networks with some restrictions, despite intense pressure from the US to block the firm over security concerns.

FGN45 PAK-HINDU-LD GIRL Pak Hindu girl abducted from wedding, forcibly converted to Islam and married to Muslim man

Karachi: A 24-year-old Hindu girl was allegedly abducted by armed assailants from her wedding ceremony in Pakistan's Sindh province and forcibly converted to Islam before being married off to a Muslim man, evoking a sharp reaction from India, which demanded urgent action by Islamabad to protect the minority communities in the country.