HIGHLIGHTS AT 1700 HOURS

Following are the top stories at 1700 hrs:

TOP STORIES:

PAR13 LS-3RD LD VARDHAN

Uproar in LS over Harsh Vardhan's remarks on Rahul New Delhi: Treasury and opposition members nearly came to blows in Lok Sabha on Friday when Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan condemned in "no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

FGN4 CHINA-LD-VIRUS-TOLL

China's novel coronavirus toll soars to 636, total confirmed cases over 31,000 Beijing: The death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic has risen to 636 with 73 new mortalities reported, mostly from the worst-affected Hubei province, while the total number of confirmed cases has crossed 31,000, Chinese health officials said on Friday. By K J M Varma

NATION:

CAL18 AS-BODO-LD-MODI

Bodo accord has heralded new dawn of peace in Assam: Modi Kokrajhar (Assam): Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that it was because of people's support that the Bodo peace accord was signed, heralding a new dawn of peace in Assam.

DEL29 RAHUL-2NDLD PM

Modi doesn't behave like prime minister: Rahul New Delhi: Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "tubelight" barb, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he does not behave like a prime minister.

DEL31 CBI-2NDLD OSD

CBI arrests OSD to Delhi deputy CM Sisodia, searches premises of another IAS officer New Delhi: The CBI on Friday carried out searches at the premises of an IAS officer in connection with the arrest of Gopal Krishna Madhav, OSD to Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, officials said.

CAL19 WB-ASSEMBLY-LD DHANKHAR

There is air of intolerance, bigotry, hatred in the country: WB Guv Kolkata: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday did not deviate from the written speech prepared by the state government for his address at the beginning of the budget session and said intolerance, bigotry and hatred are the "new norms in the country".

MDS3 KL-PM-VIJAYAN

PM's reference to CAA protests in Kerala "factually incorrect" and "condemnable": Vijayan Thiruvananthapuram: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a reference to the Kerala Chief Minister's statement on extremists infiltrating anti-CAA protests here, Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday hit back saying it was "factually incorrect" and "condemnable".

DEL23 UP-DEFEXPO-RAJNATH

USD 5 bn defence export target to be achieved by 2024: Rajnath Singh Lucknow: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday expressed confidence that the country will achieve the target of five billion dollar worth of defence exports by 2024.

BOM1 MH-2NDLD LECTURER-ABLAZE

Lecturer set ablaze by stalker remains 'critical but stable' Nagpur: The condition of the 25-year-old woman lecturer who was set ablaze in Maharashtra's Wardha district three days ago continues to remain "critical but stable", hospital authorities here said on Thursday.

LEGAL:

LGD25 DL-COURT-LD NIRBHAYA Nirbhaya case: Delhi court dismisses Tihar's plea seeking fresh date for execution of convicts

New Delhi: A Delhi court Friday dismissed Tihar jail authorities' plea seeking fresh date for execution of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

LGD14 SC-2NDLD SHAHEEN BAGH SC to hear pleas against protest at Shaheen Bagh after Feb 8 Delhi poll

New Delhi: The Supreme Court said it will hear the pleas against the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh next week as it did not want to "influence" the February 8 Delhi assembly elections by hearing the matter on Friday.

LGD28 DL-HC-2NDLD AUTO FARES Delhi HC stays hike in auto fares; set back to AAP govt ahead of polling

New Delhi: A day before Delhi Assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party government got a jolt from the Delhi High Court which stayed the operation of its decision of June last year to increase auto-rickshaw fares.

FOREIGN:

FGN12 US-3RDLD-SANDHU Ambassador Sandhu presents his credentials to President Trump at White House

Washington: Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India's ambassador-designate to the United States, has presented his credentials to President Donald Trump who welcomed him at the the White House and wished him success in his new appointment, the Indian embassy here has said. By Lalit K Jha

FGN11 CHINA-XI-TRUMP-LD VIRUS Assess coronavirus epidemic in 'calm' manner: Chinese Prez Xi tells Trump

Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on Friday with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the novel coronavirus outbreak and asked him to assess the epidemic in a "calm" manner, urging America to adopt and adjust its response measures in a "reasonable way" to China's intensified efforts to contain the dreaded virus that has claimed over 630 lives. By K J M Varma

FGN17 PAK-POSTER-HINDUS Leader from Pakistan PM's party apologises for posters offensive to Hindus

Lahore, Feb 7 (PTI) A leader from Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's party, who put up banners with a slogan offensive to the minority Hindus in the country, has apologised after he came under fire from netizens as well as the party.