HIGHLIGHTS

MDS4 TN-SEXUAL HARASSMENT-ARREST AIADMK functionary among three held in Pollachi sexual assault case Coimbatore Three more people, including an AIADMK functionary, were on Wednesday arrested by the CBI in connection with a case of sexual harassment of women by a gang in nearby Pollachi in 2019.LEGAL LGD3 SC-VIRTUAL COURT SC expresses displeasure over glitches in virtual court hearing in apex court New Delhi The Supreme Court has expressed its exasperation at the inability of the virtual court system to work satisfactorily in the apex court, saying it is becoming very difficult to continue with the proceedings in an appropriate manner.

Following are the top stories at 1.15 pm. LGD7 SC-CONVERSION SC agrees to examine the validity of state laws on religious conversions due to interfaith marriage New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday agreed to examine controversial new laws of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand regulating religious conversions due to inter-faith marriages. LGD8 SC-LD FARMERS SC to hear pleas against farm laws, issues related to farmers' protest on Jan 11 New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday said it would hear on January 11 a batch of pleas challenging the new farm laws as also the ones raising issues related to the ongoing farmers' protest at Delhi borders. NATION DEL14 VIRUS-UK VARIANT-POSITIVE India detects a total of 71 cases of the new UK mutant strain New Delhi: The number of people who have tested positive for the new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the country has climbed to 71, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

DEL10 PM-RANGOLI WOMAN Fighting challenges in life resolutely is a real win: PM to speech impaired woman New Delhi: ''Challenges keep coming up in life, but even in adverse circumstances if we don't give up and fight resolutely then that is our real victory,'' Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said in a letter to a hearing and speech impaired woman who sent a picture of a 'rangoli' portrait of the PM made by her on Diwali. DEL8 VIRUS-LD CASES COVID-19: India adds 18,088 new cases New Delhi: India's COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,03,74,932 with 18,088 infections being reported in a day, while the recoveries are nearing one crore, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

BOM2 CG-VACCINE-DRY RUN COVID-19 vaccine mock drill in 21 C'garh districts on Jan 7, 8 Raipur: A dry run to assess the readiness for the COVID-19 vaccination drive will be held in 21 districts of Chhattisgarh over the next two days, a senior state health official said on Wednesday. MDS4 TN-SEXUAL HARASSMENT-ARREST AIADMK functionary among three held in Pollachi sexual assault case Coimbatore: Three more people, including an AIADMK functionary, were on Wednesday arrested by the CBI in connection with a case of sexual harassment of women by a gang in nearby Pollachi in 2019.

LEGAL LGD3 SC-VIRTUAL COURT SC expresses displeasure over glitches in a virtual court hearing in apex court New Delhi: The Supreme Court has expressed its exasperation at the inability of the virtual court system to work satisfactorily in the apex court, saying it is becoming very difficult to continue with the proceedings appropriately. FOREIGN FGN16 US-LAKHVI-ARREST US welcomes arrest of 26/11 attack mastermind and LeT commander Lakhvi Washington: The US has welcomed the arrest of Mumbai attack mastermind and Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi in Pakistan, terming it an ''important step'' in holding him responsible for his role in supporting terrorism and its financing. By Lalit K Jha FGN12 UN-INDIA-SYRIA-WEAPONS Allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria should be addressed through consultation: India at UNSC United Nations: India has told the UN that concerns and allegations over the use of chemical weapons in Syria should be addressed through consultation among all concerned parties, cautioning that ''politicization'' of the issue is neither helpful nor productive. By Yoshita Singh FGN11 US-TRUMP-CHINA-APPS Trump orders ban on transactions with eight more Chinese apps Washington: President Donald Trump has signed an executive order barring transactions with eight Chinese apps including Alipay and WeChat Pay to protect America's national security, citing the steps taken by India to ban more than 200 Chinese connected software applications. By Lalit K Jha FGN1 ISRAEL-INDIA-DEFENCE-SYSTEM India, Israel successfully tests Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile defense system Jerusalem: India and Israel have successfully tested a Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) defense system jointly developed by the two countries in a boost to their combat capabilities aimed at providing ultimate protection from enemy aircraft.