HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the highlights at 1700 hours:

TOP STORIES:

DEL34 UP-3RDLD ALLIANCE

SP, BSP will contest 38 seats each in UP; Cong kept out of alliance

Lucknow/New Delhi: Once arch-rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party announced Saturday their tie-up in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, sharing 38 seats each and keeping the Congress out of the alliance.

DEL33 UP-ALLIANCE-ENEMIES

SP-BSP alliance: How sworn enemies became friends again

Lucknow: Call it political compulsion or an eye on maximum number of seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the coming together of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party only proves the adage that in politics, there are no permanent friends or foes. By Abhinav Pandey

DEL31 NIA-ISIS-ARREST

ISIS module: NIA arrests man from UP's Ghaziabad

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency said Saturday it has made a fresh arrest from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh in connection with its probe against an ISIS-inspired group, which was allegedly planning suicide attacks and serial blasts, targeting politicians and government installations, in Delhi and other parts of north India.

NATION:

DEL19 POL-ALLIANCE-YOGI

Grand alliance is for anarchy, corruption, political instability: Yogi

New Delhi: Any grand alliance of Opposition parties against the BJP for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will bring in anarchy, corruption and political instability, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said Saturday.

MDS2 TN-PALANISWAMI

TN CM rejects allegations against him in Kodanad break-in case

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Saturday rejected allegations made against him by those accused in the Kodanad estate break-in case, saying the police will probe the matter.

MDS3 KL-ALAPPAD

Alappad mining issue: Ker govt ready for talks, protesters refuse

Alappad/Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government Saturday expressed willingness to hold conciliatory talks on the Alappad mining issue but the protest council said it was not in favour of any discussion until the mining stopped.

CAL3 TR-BANDH

Bandh in Tripura tribal council area affects normal life

Agartala: Normal life was crippled in the tribal council area of Tripura on Saturday during the dawn-to-dusk bandh called by five indigenous parties to protest against the police firing at Madhabbari earlier this week.

CAL1 WB-MAMATA-UP ALLIANCE

Mamata welcomes SP-BSP alliance in UP for 2019 LS polls

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday welcomed the SP-BSP announcing an alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

LEGAL:

LGM1 GJ-HC-PATEL

Guj HC frames issues in plea against Ahmed Patel's RS win

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has framed six issues in an election petition filed by BJP leader Balvantsinh Rajput challenging veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel's election to the Rajya Sabha from the state in 2017.

LGM3 TN-HC-SARADHA-NALINI

Madras HC grants Nalini Chidambaram interim protection from arrest

Chennai: In a breather to former finance minister P Chidambaram's wife Nalini, the Madras High Court Saturday granted her interim protection from arrest by the CBI in the Saradha chit fund case till she obtains regular anticipatory bail from a jurisdictional court in West Bengal.

BUSINESS:

DCM5 BIZ-AIR INDIA-GROWTH

Air India's passenger revenue grows by 20 pc in Q3 of 2018-19

New Delhi: While Air India's passenger count rose by only 4 per cent in the December 2018 quarter, its revenue from passengers increased by 20 per cent on the back of better aircraft utilisation, said a senior official of the company.

FOREIGN:

FGN8 US-SHUTDOWN-LONGEST

Government shutdown becomes longest in US history

Washington: The US government shutdown that has left 800,000 federal employees without salaries as a result of President Donald Trump's row with Democrats over building a Mexico border wall entered a record 22nd day Saturday. (AFP)

FGN9 RAHUL-UAE

Intolerance, anger reign supreme in India: Rahul

Dubai: Congress President Rahul Gandhi said here Saturday that India has witnessed a great deal of intolerance and anger in the last four and a half years which stemmed from the "mentality of the people in power".

FGN3 US-PAK-HOUSE

Bill to terminate Pak designation as major non-NATO ally introduced in Congress

Washington, Jan 12: An influential US lawmaker has introduced a legislation in Congress to terminate the designation of Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally. By Lalit K Jha IND

IND