PTI highlights at 5 p.m.

The following are PTI's top/expected stories at 5 pm:
STORIES IN THE PIPELINE
New Delhi _ An all-party meet ahead of Parliament session. Meeting scheduled to start at 5 p.m. but could be late.
New Delhi _ Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to meet party leaders at a dinner, scheduled to start at 7.30 p.m.
New Delhi _ Election Commission briefing on last phase of Gujarat polls. Scheduled to start at 6.30 p.m.
New Delhi _ Story on exit polls for Gujarat elections. Expect to file by 7 p.m.

New Delhi _ Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to address an event at FICCI. Event scheduled to start at 4 p.m.

New Delhi_Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to address FICCI AGM at 5 p.m.
STORIES ON WIRE
Nation:
POL-PM-CONG (Lead expected)
EC acting like BJP's puppet, PM's 'roadshow' violation of model code: Congress
New Delhi: The Congress today said the Election Commission was a BJP "puppet" for not acting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his "roadshow" in Gujarat.
OPPN-SESSION (Lead expected)
Congress, oppn parties meet to formulate joint strategy
New Delhi: The Congress and a number of opposition parties today met to formulate a joint strategy to corner the government on key issues during the Winter Session of Parliament starting tomorrow.

GJ-POLLS-VOTING PERCENTAGE (Lead expected)
Guj polls: Over 29 pc polling till noon, PM votes at Sabarmati
Ahmedabad: An over 29 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the first four hours of polling today for the 93 seats in the second phase in north and central Gujarat regions during which Prime Minister Naredra Modi also cast his ballot.
Along with GJ-POLLS-MODI-VOTE, GJ-POLLS PM APPEAL
MH-SUBMARINE-2NDLD PM (No lead expected)
PM commissions submarine Kalvari; says will boost Navy's might
Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today commissioned the first Scorpene class submarine Kalvari into the Indian Navy, saying it was an excellent example of the government's 'Make in India' initiative and a "big step" in the country's defence preparedness.

BIZ-INFLATION-WPI (No lead expected)
Nov WPI inflation jumps to 3.93% on high onion, veggie prices
New Delhi: Inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) accelerated further to 3.93 per cent in November due to a sharp rise in onion prices and costlier seasonal vegetables, government data showed today.
TL-EXTREMISTS (No lead expected)
Eight extremists killed in face-off with police in Telangana
Hyderabad: Eight extremists, members of a newly formed group which allegedly indulged in extortion and violence, were today killed in an exchange of fire with police in Telangana's Bhadradri Kothagudem district, an official said.
FOREIGN
UK-BREXIT-LD VOTE (No lead expected)

Rebels defeat May in Brexit vote on key EU withdrawal law
London: British Prime Minister Theresa May has lost a crucial Brexit vote in the UK Parliament after the rebels in her party backed an amendment giving them a legal guarantee of a say on the final divorce deal struck with the European Union. By Aditi Khanna
BIZ-WTO-LD TALKS (No lead expected)
WTO talks collapse, no agreement on food security
Buenos Aires: Bringing disappointment to developing countries like India, the talks at the WTO's 11th ministerial conference collapsed, with the US going back on its commitment to find a permanent solution to the public food stockholding issue. By Chandra Shekhar

MYANMAR-ROHINGYA-VIOLENCE (No lead expected)
6,700 Rohingya killed in first month of Myanmar violence: MSF
Yangon: (AFP) At least 6,700 Rohingya Muslims were killed in the first month of a Myanmar army crackdown on rebels in Rakhine state that began in late August, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said today.
UK-MALLYA-ASSETS (No lead expected)
Mallya assets freeze order in UK courts until April 2018
London: Vijay Mallya, who is undergoing an extradition trial in a UK court over Rs 9,000-crore fraud and money laundering charges, will face next year a parallel litigation brought by 13 Indian banks to freeze nearly USD 1.5 billion of his assets. By Aditi Khanna

INDIA-STUDY-ABORTIONS (No lead expected)
Half of all pregnancies in India unintended: Lancet study
New York: An estimated 15.6 million abortions took place in India in 2015, with the majority of women taking pills at home without adequate counselling, according to a study which found that about half of the pregnancies in the country were unintended.
LEGAL
SC-AADHAAR 2 (Developing. Lead expected)
New Delhi: Attorney General K K Venugopal says Centre is willing to extend the deadline up to March 31 for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various schemes. He, however, insists that Aadhaar should remain mandatory to open a new bank account.

GREEN-AMARNATH (No lead expected)
NGT clarifies Amarnath cave shrine not declared silent zone
New Delhi: Following protests over its decision, the National Green Tribunal today clarified it has not declared a "silence zone" at the Amarnath cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
DL-COURT-NIKE (No lead expected)
Court awards Rs one lakh damages to US brand Nike
New Delhi: A Delhi court has directed a man to pay Rs 1 lakh as damages to US-based Nike for infringing its trademark by selling products under the name of the popular global sports goods brand.
KL-WOMAN-JUDGEMENT (Lead expected)
Dalit woman rape: Court awards death sentence to labourer

Kochi: A court here today sentenced to death Ameerul Islam for the rape and murder case of a 30-year old Dalit law student in Kerala last year.