HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 5 pm:

TOP STORIES

DEL31 AYODHYA-LD TRUST (CORRECTED) 15 trustees in Ram Temple trust; one to be Dalit, says HM Amit Shah

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday announced that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, set up by the government for construction of a temple in Ayodhya, will have 15 trustees and one of them will be from the Dalit community.

DEL67 PM-LD DEFEXPO Our target is USD 5 billion of defence export in next five years: Modi

Lucknow: India is eyeing defence export of USD 5 billion in the next five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, highlighting the measures taken by his government to boost manufacturing and woo investors to set up a base in the country.

NATION

DEL40 UP-AYODHYA-LD LAND UP govt allots five acres of land to Sunni Waqf Board near Ayodhya

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday allotted five acres of land in Ayodhya district to the Sunni Central Waqf Board as directed by the Supreme Court.

DEL87 EC-AYODHYA-TRUST Ahead of Delhi polls, EC says its nod isn't required for govt to announce Ram temple trust

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Wednesday said its approval was "not required" for the government to announce the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra trust.

DEL43 RAHUL-PM-ECONOMY PM seeking to use budget to sack Sitharaman: Rahul

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to use the "useless" budget presented by a "clueless" Nirmala Sitharaman to dump the entire blame on her and sack her.

DEL77 DL-POLLS-LD KEJRIWAL-SHAH Delhi polls: Kejriwal invites Shah for public debate

New Delhi: AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal invited Union Home Minister Amit Shah for a public debate on any issue on Wednesday, saying the people of the national capital wanted to know why should they vote for the BJP in the February 8 Assembly polls.

MDS10 TN-CITIZENSHIP-LD RAJINIKANTH Rajinikanth throws weight behind CAA, NPR, says no threat to Muslims

Chennai: Superstar Rajinikanth on Wednesday threw his weight behind the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and asserted that the legislation did not pose any threat to Muslims while backing the National Population Register exercise as "very essential."

DEL81 RSQ-JK-DETENTION 389 people in detention under PSA in JK: Govt

New Delhi: A total of 389 people are currently in detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) in Jammu and Kashmir, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

DEL46 JK-RELEASE Two mainstream political leaders released from detention in J-K

Srinagar: Senior politician and People's Conference chairman Sajjad Lone and PDP leader Waheed Parra, close aide of detained former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, were released from preventive detention here on Wednesday, officials said.

DEL89 JK-2NDLD ENCOUNTER 2 militants, 1 CRPF jawan killed in gunbattle near Srinagar

Srinagar: Two militants and a CRPF jawan were killed in a gunbattle on the outskirts of Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar city on Wednesday, police said.

LEGAL

LGD15 DL-HC-2NDLD NIRBHAYA Convicts in Nirbhaya case to be executed together, not separately: Delhi HC

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Wednesday said all the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case have to be executed together, not separately, and dismissed the Centre's plea against the trial court's order staying the execution of their death sentence.

LGD21 SC-LD NIRBHAYA Nirbhaya case: Centre, Delhi govt move SC challenging HC verdict on hanging of convicts

New Delhi: The Centre and the Delhi government moved the Supreme Court Wednesday challenging the rejection of their plea by the Delhi High Court against the trial court order staying the execution of four death-row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

FOREIGN

FGN30 US-LD TRUMP US is 'thriving' and 'highly respected again': Trump

Washington: Making a strong pitch for his re-election amid the impeachment trial, President Donald Trump said that America has made a great comeback and the country is "thriving and highly respected again" as he boasted about the economic growth under his regime. By Lalit K Jha

FGN7 CHINA-2NDLD-HEALTH-VIRUS China coronavirus toll soars to 490, total confirmed cases over 24000

Beijing: The death toll in China's coronavirus outbreak rose to 490 on Tuesday while the total number of confirmed cases mounted to 24324, Chinese health officials announced on Wednesday.

BUSINESS

DEL73 BIZ-NITI-TAX Middle class people 'trained enough' to pick right Income Tax option: Rajiv Kumar

New Delhi: Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said the middle class is "trained enough" to decide which personal income tax option is good for them and exuded confidence that their propensity to save will not come down. By Bijay Kumar Singh

SPORTS

SPF19 SPO-CRI-LD IND Taylor ton outshines Iyer's hundred, New Zealand win by four wickets

Hamilton: Shreyas Iyer's maiden 50-over hundred was eclipsed by veteran Ross Taylor's assault on Indian bowlers as New Zealand held nerves to chase down their biggest ever target for a four-wicket triumph in the first ODI here on Wednesday. By Chetan Narula.