A look at the top headlines of the day:

  1. Supreme Court halts Jahangirpuri demolitions for two weeks: A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and BR Gavai said they will take a “serious view of the demolitions” that continued on Wednesday despite the court’s stay. The drive began four days after communal violence erupted in the locality when a Hindu religious procession armed with guns and swords passed a mosque.
  2. Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani arrested by Assam Police for tweets on PM Modi: In one of the tweets, posted on 18 April, had said that the prime minister ‘worships’ Nathuram Godse, Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin. At the time of his arrest, the Assam Police refused to mention the charges against Mevani.
  3. Delhi records 965 new Covid-19 cases, 4.36% fewer than Wednesday’s count: The test positivity rate also declined to 4.71% from 5.70% a day earlier. Meanwhile, the Delhi government on Thursday announced that booster vaccine doses will be provided free of cost for eligible beneficiaries aged 18 to 59 at all government-run vaccination centres
  4. Prashant Kishor wants to join Congress, says party General Secretary Tariq Anwar: The political strategist is expected to hold a meeting with party leaders on Friday. Since April 16, when Kishor gave a presentation on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to the top leaders of the Congress, he has held multiple meetings with them.
  5. Delhi BJP chief calls for Jahangirpuri-like demolition drives in other parts of the city: The Jahangirpuri demolition drive was carried out after Adesh Gupta had written to the North Delhi civic body to raze “illegal construction of rioters”. On Thursday, he said that civic bodies in the city’s eastern and southern parts should also carry out demolition drives to “remove illegal encroachments by Bangladeshis and Rohingyas”.
  6. India criticises US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s visit to PoK as “narrow-minded politics”: Her visit to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, violated India’s territorial integrity, foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
  7. CBI files two corruption cases in Jammu and Kashmir after ex-governor Satya Pal Malik’s bribery allegations: Malik had said he was offered a Rs 300-crore bribe to clear a hydroelectric power project and a health insurance scheme for government employees.
  8. Centre preparing national database on internal security, says Amit Shah: The database would help state police forces and central agencies as data is of no use if maintained in silos, the Union home minister said.
  9. Delhi High Court directs Centre to file status report about promises made at UN climate summit: India had announced it would fulfil 50% of its energy requirements through renewable energy sources by 2030.
  10. At least 15 killed in series of blasts in Afghanistan: While 11 died at the explosion at a Shiite mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif, four casualties were reported from Kunduz city. A third blast took place in the capital of Kabul in which three citizens, including a children, were injured.