HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 1700 hours:

NATION:

DEL32 DL-POLL-4THLD VOTING Assembly polls: Delhi records 41.5 per cent voter turnout till 3 pm

New Delhi: Voting percentage improved slightly to over 41 per cent by 3 pm as Delhiites queued up to cast their votes for the Assembly election on Saturday, poll officials said.

DEL30 LD INDOLANKA Hope Sri Lanka will fulfil aspirations of Tamil people: Modi after talks with SL PM

New Delhi: India on Saturday hoped that the Sri Lankan government will realise the aspirations of the Tamil community in the island nation as the issue figured prominently in wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa.

DEL33 JK-SHELLING Pak army shells forward areas along LoC in J-K's Poonch

Jammu: The Pakistani army violated the ceasefire on Saturday by resorting to unprovoked firing of small arms and mortar shelling on forward villages and posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, a defence spokesperson said.

DEL34 DL-POLL-SHAHEEN BAGH WOMEN Shaheen Bagh: Women protesters vote in batches to keep agitation alive

New Delhi: On a sit-in for over a month against the Citizenship Amendment Act, women protesters at Shaheen Bagh voted in batches on Saturday so that the agitation remains unaffected.

DEL20 DL-RAMLAL-CAA-VOTERS Those shouting 'kagaz nahin dikhayenge' will be defeated in Delhi: Ram Lal

New Delhi: Taking a swipe at those protesting against CAA-NRC, senior RSS functionary Ram Lal on Saturday said those shouting "kagaz nahin dikhayenge" would be defeated in the Delhi assembly election as he appealed to people to show documents while voting.

BOM5 MH-LD FIRE Seven firemen injured in blaze at Navi Mumbai high-rise

Thane: Seven firemen were injured during a firefighting operation after a major blaze broke out in a 21-storey residential building in Navi Mumbai on Saturday morning, officials said.

MDS4 KA-YEDIYURAPPA-PORTFOLIO

Portfolio allocation will be done on Monday, says Yediyurappa Bengaluru: Amid growing pressure from newly inducted ministers for plum ministries, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday said the portfolio allocation will be done on February 10.

LEGAL:

LGD2 CJI-ARBITRATION

Time is ripe for legislation containing compulsory 'pre-litigation mediation': CJI New Delhi: Chief Justice of India S A Bobde on Saturday said the time is ripe to devise a comprehensive legislation which contains "compulsory pre-litigation mediation" that would ensure efficiency and reduce the time of pendency for parties as well as courts.

FOREIGN:

FGN17 CHINA-VIRUS-4THLD TOLL

Death toll rises to 723 in China coronavirus; US woman, Japanese man first foreigners to die Beijing: An American woman and a Japanese man became the first foreigners to have died from the new coronavirus in China as the death toll jumped to 723 in the country with the confirmed cases soaring to 34,598, health officials said on Saturday.

FGN18 PAK-KARTARPUR

Pakistan considering proposal for passport-free entry of Indian pilgrims to Kartarpur corridor: Interior Minister Islamabad: Pakistan is considering a proposal for allowing Indian pilgrims to enter the Kartarpur corridor without passport in order to attract more visitors to the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Interior Minister Ijaz Shah informed the country's Parliament.

SPORTS:

SPF31 SPO-CRI-IND-KOHLI

One day cricket in this calendar year is not as relevant as T20s and Tests: Kohli Auckland: The high-flying Indians have been brought down by the Kiwis in the ODIs but an unperturbed Virat Kohli says this format is not much relevant this year, referring to the fast-approaching T20 World Cup and the engrossing fight for World Test championship.