HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the highlights at 2100 HRS:

TOP STORIES

DEL34 LD LAUNDERING Gautam Khaitan arrested in fresh money laundering case, sent to 2-day ED custody

New Delhi: Lawyer Gautam Khaitan, an accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a fresh case of alleged possession of black money and money laundering and remanded in a two-day custody of the agency by a court here.

DEL36 RJ-SWINE FLU Eight more die due to swine flu in Rajasthan, death toll 70

Jaipur: With eight more persons succumbing to H1N1 virus in two days, the death toll due to swine flu in Rajasthan has risen to 70, an official said here on Saturday. DEL35 HEALTH-SITHARAMAN-POST

Unfortunate that some states opted out of Ayushman Bharat: Sitharaman New Delhi: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has termed it unfortunate that some states have chosen to opt out of the Centre's ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme for "political expediency".

DEL33 RDAY-RUSSIA-INDIA

R-Day: Putin sends wishes to Prez Kovind, PM Modi; says India achieved 'impressive success' New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended cordial wishes to India's president, prime minister and the people of the country on its 70th Republic Day, embassy officials said Saturday.

DEL32 RDAY-LD STATES

Republic Day celebrated across India, boycott call in NE over citizenship bill New Delhi: A kaleidoscope of rich cultural heritage of states and their journey towards development was on display as colourful parades marked the 70th Republic Day which passed off peacefully amid tight security, though celebrations were marred in some parts of Northeast following a boycott call by outfits against the citizenship bill.

DEL30 JK-LD INTRUDER

'Pak intruder shot at and presumed dead at IB in JK's Samba, found alive and shifted to hospital' Jammu: A 22-year-old Pakistani intruder, shot at by Border Security Force personnel along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir and presumed dead earlier, was shifted to hospital after he was found alive, officials said.

NATION

DEL29 PADMA-NAMBI Glad my work finally recognised, says ex-ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan

New Delhi: From being a celebrated ISRO scientist to being branded a 'spy' and finally awarded with the Padma Bhushan, Nambi Narayanan Saturday said he was glad that his work in the Indian space arena was finally recognised.

DEL27 RDAY-LD PRANAB We must strive to protect and preserve foundational ethics of Constitution: Pranab on R-Day

New Delhi: A day after his name was announced for the Bharat Ratna award, former president Pranab Mukherjee Saturday called upon countrymen to strive to protect and preserve the foundational ethics of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as enshrined in the Constitution.

DEL26 CONG-AFRICA-PREZ Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi meet South African prez

New Delhi: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday met South African president Cyril Ramaphosa here and are learnt to have discussed issues of mutual interest.

CAL9 OD-PADMA-LD MEHTA Odisha CM's sister Gita Mehta declines to accept Padma Shri citing election year

Bhubaneswar: Eminent writer Gita Mehta, who is Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's elder sister, on Saturday declined to accept the Padma Shri award, saying its timing could be "misconstrued" in an election year.

LEGAL

LGD3 DL-COURT-LD LAUNDERING Khaitan sent to ED custody for two days

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday sent lawyer Gautam Khaitan, an accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, to a two-day ED custody in connection with a fresh case of alleged possession of black money and money laundering.

FOREIGN

FGN14 PAK-SHARIF Pak: Jailed ex-PM Sharif's lawyer files plea for suspension of sentence seeks bail on health grounds

Islamabad: Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif's lawyer on Saturday filed a petition in the high court here for suspension of his sentence and seeking bail on medical grounds for the incarcerated PML-N leader. By Sajjad Hussain

FGN12 BRAZIL-DAM-2NDLD TOLL Fears rise for 300 missing in Brazil dam disaster; 9 bodies recovered

Brumadinho: Rescuers worked overnight into Saturday searching for around 300 people missing after a dam collapse at a mine in southeast Brazil killed at least nine, but the local governor said "odds are minimal" that they would be found alive. (AFP)

FGN9 US-2NDLD SHUTDOWN Trump accepts deal to temporarily end longest govt shutdown in US history

Washington: Succumbing to political pressure, President Donald Trump has backed a deal to temporarily end the record-breaking government shutdown in America's history despite getting no funding for his controversial plan to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. By Lalit K Jha

BUSINESS DCM6 BIZ-NLCINDIA

NLCIL inks pact with Tamil Nadu to set up mines, power projects New Delhi: State-owned NLC India Ltd Saturday said it has signed an agreement with Tamil Nadu to set up mines and power projects in the state.

DCM3 BIZ-GADKARI-HIGHWAYPROJ

Rs 50,000-cr highway projects to decongest Delhi: Gadkari New Delhi: The government will take up Rs 50,000-crore projects to decongest Delhi that is battling with the twin problems of air and water pollution, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said Saturday.

SPORTS

SPF25 SPO-OPEN-OSAKA-PLAUDITS Plaudits flow as Osaka 'beyond excited' to be number one

Melbourne: Naomi Osaka fulfilled a long-held dream Saturday by becoming the world number one after winning the Australian Open, and some of the greats of the game forecast a dazzling future for the young Japanese star.

PTI RHL