A look at the top headlines right now:

  1. FIR includes UAPA charges against unknown persons in Ludhiana court blast case: One person was killed and five were injured in the explosion that took place on Thursday afternoon in the Ludhiana district court complex.
  2. Mumbai reports 602 new Covid-19 infections, single-day caseload nearly triples since Monday: On Thursday, the city also recorded the highest number of cases in a day since October 10.
  3. Karnataka Assembly passes anti-conversion Bill amid protests: The Bill proposes maximum punishment of a jail term of 10 years for forcible religious conversion of women, minors and people from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes.
  4. Omicron is less likely to cause hospitalisation, severe symptoms, find three studies: The studies conducted in the United Kingdom and South Africa, however, warned that the new strain was likely to spread faster.
  5. Uttar Pradesh orders inquiry into alleged purchase of land by politicians, bureaucrats in Ayodhya: Elected representatives or relatives of government officials are allegedly among those who bought land parcels after the Ram Temple verdict.
  6. Lucknow court orders FIR against Salman Khurshid for comments on Hindutva in his book: Since November, the book has faced backlash from Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu Sena leaders. Two lawyers, Vineet Jindal and Raj Kishore, had also sought a ban on Khurshid’s book saying it could disrupt public peace. But, the Delhi High Court had refused to ban the book.
  7. HC disposes plea of eight Bhima Koregaon case accused seeking rectification in order denying them bail: The activists and academicians had said that the Bombay High Court order was based on a “factual error”. Their counsel said that the petitioners would file another application seeking a review, and not rectification of the order.
  8. Amazon moves Delhi High Court against ED probe into alleged foreign exchange violations: The agency is investigating if Amazon violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act while investing in a promoter company of the Future Group.
  9. WHO supports Covid-19 booster shots with priority to high-risk groups: At least 126 countries have recommended additional doses and more than 120 nations have been rolling out the shots, the health body said.
  10. Hong Kong university removes ‘Pillar of Shame’ memorial for Tiananmen Square massacre victims: The statue was said to be among the few public memorials about the massacre in Hong Kong. On June 4, 1989, Chinese troops opened fire on their own people to suppress pro-democracy demonstrations in and around central Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.