HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 1:30 pm IN THE PIPELINE SC asks Delhi HC chief justice to hear riot victims' plea seeking lodging FIRs against politicians for alleged hate speeches on March 6. ON THE WIRE NATION DEL32 HEALTH MIN-COVID All int'l flights to be screened for COVID-19; 28 positive cases so far in India: Health minister New Delhi: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday said 28 positive cases of coronavirus have been detected so far in India and announced that all international flights and passengers will now have to undergo screening, and not just the 12 countries listed earlier. DEL16 PM-CORONAVIRUS-HOLI Coronavirus: PM not to participate in 'Holi Milan' events on expert advice to avoid mass gatherings New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that he has decided not to participate in any 'Holi milan' programme as experts have advised to reduce mass gatherings to avoid the spread of coronavirus. BOM2 MP-CONGRESS-LD MLAS MP minister says BJP leaders took 8 MLAs to Haryana Bhopal: BJP leaders in Madhya Pradesh have allegedly taken eight MLAs to a hotel in Haryana as part of a conspiracy to topple the state government, a Congress leader has alleged.

DEL33 DL-POLICE-CHIEF LD SHAH Delhi violence: Everything under control, says police chief S N Shrivastava New Delhi: Delhi Police Commissioner S N Shrivastava on Wednesday said everything was under control in northeast Delhi, where communal violence broke out last week in which at least 42 people died. BOM3 MP-MLAS-BJP No attempt being made to destabilise MP government: BJP Bhopal: The BJP on Wednesday denied the charge that it was trying to destabilise the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, amidst the allegation that the saffron party has taken some MLAs to a hotel in Haryana.

CAL1 WB-MAMATA Mamata regularises 119 refugee colonies, says their inhabitants were Indians Kaliaganj (WB): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday regularised 119 refugee colonies in the state and said their inhabitants were Indians and their citizenship "cannot be snatched away". DEL14 DEF-ARMY CHIEF Focusing on dynamic response that is below threshold of all-out war: Army chief New Delhi: Apart from strengthening its conventional prowess, India is focusing on a dynamic response along its western and northern borders that is below the threshold of an all-out war, Army chief Gen M M Naravane said on Wednesday.

LEGAL DL-COURT-UNNAO Unnao case: Sengar convicted of culpable homicide in death of rape victim's father New Delhi: A court in Delhi on Wednesday convicted expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the death of the Unnao rape victim's father. LGD2 SC-CRYPTOCURRENCY SC allows pleas against RBI circular barring banks from providing services related to cryptocurrency New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a batch of pleas challenging the 2018 circular of the Reserve Bank of India which had prohibited banks and financial institutions from providing services with relation to cryptocurrencies.

LGD8 DL-HC-VIOLENCE-COMPENSATION HC says nothing wrong with AAP govt's compensation for riot victims, dismisses plea New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea challenging the AAP government's compensation announced for victims of the riots in northeast Delhi last week. FOREIGN FGN16 US-3RDLD PRIMARIES Democratic presidential race narrows down to two-way fight between Biden and Sanders Washington: The race to win the Democratic presidential nomination in the US has narrowed down to a two-way race between former vice president Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders as the two leaders clinched major victories during the "Super Tuesday" primaries, the most important day in the fight for the White House. By Lalit K Jha FGN15 UK-CONCERN-CAA UK expresses concerns over potential impact of CAA London: The UK government has reiterated its concern over the potential impact of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and said it is continuing to follow the events in India closely. By Aditi Khanna IJT IJT IJT.