Top stories at 9 am, February 12: Bijnor murder to impact UP polls, 64 per cent polling in first phase in UP, North Korea test fires missile

UP assembly elections: 64% polling, stray clashes mark first phase of polls

At a polling booth in Kairana village on Saturday. (Source: Praveen Khanna)

The first phase of Uttar Pradesh elections, held for 73 constituencies in some of its most sensitive areas, saw 64.22 per cent polling on Saturday in the 15 districts that went to polls. While rural voters came out in large numbers, urban areas recorded a low turnout. The poll body said that while highest polling of 71.18 per cent was recorded in Fatehabad in Agra, the lowest footfall of 51 per cent was seen in Noida of Gautam Budha Nagar. Despite reports of clashes between workers of parties at some places, the EC claimed there was no violence and breach of law and order reported from at any place. Click here to read more

North Korea reportedly test fires missile, challenging US

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks at a rocket warhead tip in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang. (Source: Reuters/File Photo)

North Korea reportedly fired a ballistic missile early Sunday in what would be its first such test of the year and an implicit challenge to President Donald Trump’s new administration. The missile is believed to have splashed down into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The North conducted two nuclear tests and a slew of rocket launches last year in continued efforts to expand its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Kim Jong Un said in his New Year’s address that the country has reached the final stages of readiness to test an ICBM, which would be a major step forward in its efforts to build a credible nuclear threat to the United States. Click here to read more

Spurious food killed four Asha Kiran inmates, autopsy reports suggest

Delhi’s Asha Kiran home for the mentally challenged.

The deaths at Delhi’s Asha Kiran home for the mentally challenged is said to have been caused due to ‘food poisoning’. The post mortem reports of the recent deaths suggest ‘spurious food’ to be the cause. Thirty-nine inmates have died at the home in the last 13 months, including six in January alone. Government sources said the conditions in Asha Kiran – which is run by the Delhi government’s Department of Social Welfare – are being viewed as an “extremely serious matter”. They said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had asked the chief secretary to “remove the deficiencies” in the home and submit a report by February 13. Click here to read more

Connaught Place again: Roof collapses, no injuries

The collapse took place around 9.15 pm. (Source: Abhinav Saha)

In another incident of roof collapse in Connaught Place, the ceiling of Odeon Sweets caved in around 9.15 pm on Saturday. Following a recent decision by the NDMC to seal rooftop restaurants, the rooftop above the store, was unoccupied, averting any fatalities. Officials of the NDMC, fire services and police reached the spot by 10.20 pm and broke open the locks of the shop. Click here to read more