HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 pm:

TOP STORIES

DEL127 LDALL AYODHYA Ahead of SC deadline, PM announces Trust for construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya

New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday constituted an independent 15-member Trust to oversee the construction of a "grand and magnificent" Ram temple in Ayodhya, an announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha four days before the expiry of a 3-month deadline set by the Supreme Court.

DEL152 PM-LDALL DEFEXPO PM hard sells India as attractive investment destination at DefExpo

Lucknow: Hardselling India as an attractive investment destination, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday set a target of USD 5 billion worth of military exports in the next five years and invited global defence majors to set up manufacturing hubs in the country. By Manash Pratim Bhuyan

NATION

DEL147 AYODHYA-CONG Govt should do what SC mandated, but politics over Lord Ram should end: Cong

New Delhi: As the Centre constituted a trust to oversee the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Congress on Wednesday said the government should go ahead with the process mandated by the Supreme Court but the politics over Lord Ram should now end.

DEL136 CHINA-LD AMBASSADOR Coronavirus outbreak: China working hard to ensure safety of Indians in country, says ambassador

New Delhi: China on Monday hoped that India will not put trade restrictions and limit movement of people to the country in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic in its Hubei province. By Manash Pratim Bhuyan

DEL149 DL-POLL-LD RAHUL 'Only funda' of Modi and Kejriwal is to divide people: Rahul

New Delhi: Training his guns at the BJP and the AAP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the politics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal revolved around hate, and their only strategy was to divide people.

DEL99 DL-KEJRIWAL-LD SHAHEEN BAGH If Shaheen Bagh shooter belongs to AAP, give him double punishment: Kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said if the person who opened fire at the anti-CAA protest site in Shaheen Bagh belonged to his party, he should be given a "double punishment".

DEL135 CJI-LD LETTER-SHAHEEN BAGH Bravery award winner writes to CJI to stop children from attending protests

New Delhi/Mumbai: Days after the death of an infant at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh protests, a twelve-year-old National Bravery Award winner has written to Chief Justice of India S A Bobde seeking directions to prevent children from participating in demonstrations as it "amounts to cruelty".

DEL121 RSQ-AI EMPLOYEES-ABSORB No proposal to absorb AI employees in other govt departments after disinvestment: Puri

New Delhi: There is no proposal under consideration to absorb Air India employees in any other government department after the airline's disinvestment, Union Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Wednesday.

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.

MDS18 TN-CITIZENSHIP-2NDLD 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."

LEGAL

LGD27 DL-HC-3RDLD 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

FGN45 UK-ECONOMY-LD INDIANS New report quantifies Indian diaspora's contribution to UK economy

London: Indian diaspora-owned companies in the UK with a combined revenue of 36.84 billion pounds employ over 174,000 people and pay over 1 billion pounds in Corporation Tax, according to a first-of-its-kind research. By Aditi Khanna

FGN49 US-TRUMP-2NDLD SPEECH America is 'thriving' and 'highly respected again' under my watch: President Trump

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

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.