HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9.25 pm NATION DEL41 LD AYODHYA PM Modi visits temples in TN Security stepped up in Ayodhya Govt issues media advisory AyodhyaRameswaram Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at two ancient temples in Tamil Nadu linked to Lord Ram as preparations for the January 22 consecration ceremony in Ayodhya reached a fever pitch with temples across the country decked up to celebrate the event.

Following are the top stories at 9.25 pm: NATION DEL41 LD AYODHYA **** PM Modi visits temples in TN; Security stepped up in Ayodhya; Govt issues media advisory Ayodhya/Rameswaram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at two ancient temples in Tamil Nadu linked to Lord Ram as preparations for the January 22 consecration ceremony in Ayodhya reached a fever pitch with temples across the country decked up to celebrate the event. **** CAL36 AS-2NDLD SHAH **** India to be free from menace of Naxalism in three years: Amit Shah Tezpur/Guwahati: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday asserted that the country will be free from the menace of Naxalism in the next three years. **** CAL38 AR-RAHUL-LD BJP **** BJP dividing country in name of caste, creed, religion: Rahul Gandhi Itanagar: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of ''dividing the country in the name of caste, creed and religion'', asserting that his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra', which entered Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday, was aimed at uniting the people. **** DEL36 BJP-MASS CONNECT **** BJP to launch mass connect programme from Feb 4 New Delhi: Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP will run a mass connect programme between February 4 and 11, with its 30 lakh members expected to reach out to seven lakh rural polling booths and all urban booths during the period. **** DEL31 LD AYODHYA INVITEES **** Bachchan, Ambani, Adani and Tendulkar… who’s who from all sectors to attend Ram temple inauguration Ayodhya: Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, business tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, and sporting icon Sachin Tendulkar are among India's crème de la crème who have been invited as state guests for the consecration of the Ram temple on Monday. **** MDS13 TN-PM-5TH LD-TEMPLES **** PM Modi takes holy dip in 'Agni theerth' beach; prays in TN temples Rameswaram (TN): Extending his visits to temples in the south with a Ramayana connect, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday worshipped in the Sri Ranganathaswamy and Ramanathaswamy temples in Tamil Nadu and took a holy dip at the Rameswaram 'Angi theerth' beach. **** CAL46 AS-SHAH-2ND LD MYANMAR **** Govt rethinking on free movement agreement with Myanmar: Shah Guwahati: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the government will end the free movement of people at the India-Myanmar border, and fence it completely so that it can be protected like the country's boundary with Bangladesh. **** CAL39 JH-ED-3RDLD SOREN **** ED continues to quiz Soren in money laundering case, Section 144 clamped near CM's residence Ranchi: Enforcement Directorate sleuths continued to question Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren at his official residence here on Saturday in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. **** DEL17 BH-INDIA-LD PARAS **** INDIA bloc certain to disintegrate in Bihar, good development to follow for NDA: Union minister Paras New Delhi, Jan 20 (PTI) Amid the JD(U)'s perceived unhappiness with the opposition INDIA bloc constituents, a key BJP ally from Bihar Saturday claimed that the state's ruling combine is ''100 per cent'' certain to break and a ''good development'' for the NDA will follow the Ram temple consecration ceremony. By Kumar Rakesh **** BOM3 MP-CONG-LD NOTICES **** MP poll drubbing: Congress serves notices to 150 leaders for 'anti-party' activities Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh Congress's disciplinary committee has issued show cause notices to nearly 150 local leaders for allegedly engaging in ''anti-party'' activities during the November 2023 state assembly polls. **** DEL43 DL-LD DEEPFAKE-ARREST **** Creator of deepfake video of actor Rashmika Mandanna arrested, wanted to increase followers: Delhi Police New Delhi: Delhi Police on Saturday said it has arrested a B-Tech graduate from Andhra Pradesh in connection with a deepfake video of actor Rashmika Mandanna that was widely circulated on social media. **** LEGAL LGD4 SC-CRYPTOCURRENCIES **** Yet to finalise mechanism for regulating cryptocurrencies: Centre to SC New Delhi: The Centre has told the Supreme Court it is yet to take a decision on a mechanism to regulate cryptocurrencies and effectively investigate related offences. **** LGD5 DL-COURT-EXCISE SCAM **** Delhi Excise 'scam': Court extends judicial custody of AAP's Sanjay Singh, Manish Sisodia New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday extended the judicial custody of AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia till February 3 in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam after they appeared through video conferencing from Tihar Jail. **** BUSINESS DEL30 BIZ-STOCKS-CLOSE **** Sensex, Nifty end lower; FMCG, IT stocks top drags Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty pared initial gains and settled lower on Saturday due to selling in FMCG and IT shares. **** FOREIGN FGN17 UGANDA-JAISHANKAR-WICKREMESINGHE **** EAM Jaishankar calls on Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe in Uganda, discusses bilateral initiatives Kampala: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday called on Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and discussed the progress of bilateral initiatives. **** FGN2 US-TEMPLES-AYODHYA-FESTIVITIES **** Temples across US gears up for Ram Mandir festivities Washington: Hundreds of temples dotted across the United States are gearing up to celebrate the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya next week, with thousands of Indian Americans likely to attend a series of events beginning this week. ****.

SPORTS SPF26 SPO-CRI-U19WC-LD IND **** U19 World Cup: Saumy, Musheer shine as India outclass Bangladesh by 84 runs Bloemfontein: Left-arm spinners Saumy Kumar Pandey and Musheer Khan headlined a dominant Indian performance as the defending champions outclassed Bangladesh by 84 runs in their opening game of the ICC U-19 World Cup here Saturday. **** .