A look at the top headlines of the day:

  1. Retail inflation rises to eight-year high of 7.79% in April: This was the fourth straight month in which the price rise indicator remained above the limit prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India. In March, retail inflation was at a 17-month high of 6.95%.
  2. Plea to open Taj Mahal rooms to check for Hindu idols dismissed by Allahabad High Court: The judges asked the petitioner, a BJP leader, not to make a mockery of the public interest litigation system. They observed that the petitioner had approached the court to give verdict on a “completely non-justiciable issue”.
  3. Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as new Sri Lanka prime minister: Meanwhile, a Sri Lankan court banned former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and 16 others from travelling overseas in view of investigations into the violence in the island country.
  4. Half of hospitalised Covid patients show at least one symptom even after two years, shows Lancet study: The aim of the study was to characterise long-term effects of the infection on the health of hospital survivors and to determine their recovery status. The team found that regardless of severity of the initial disease, Covid-19 survivors had reported long-term improvements in physical and mental health.
  5. Rupee tumbles to a record low of 77.63 against US dollar: The currency hit an all-time low for the second time this week. The 30-share Sensex ended the day 1158.08 points, or 2.14% lower at 52,930.31. Meanwhile, the broader 50-share NSE Nifty fell 359.10 points, or 2.22%, to 15,808.00.
  6. Kashmiri Pandit man shot dead by alleged militants in J&K’s Budgam district: Rahul Bhat was killed while he was at the tehsildar’s office in Budgam’s Chadoora. In the past eight months, suspected militants have attacked several members of religious minorities and migrant workers in Kashmir.
  7. Gyanvapi mosque’s survey will continue, says Varanasi court: This was done after five women petitioners claimed that an image of deity Shringar Gauri exists at the back of the western wall of the mosque. They have demanded that they be allowed to offer daily prayers and observe other Hindu rituals at the site.
  8. Karnataka Cabinet will introduce ordinance banning forced religious conversions: The government will take up the anti-conversion Bill in the next Assembly session, the state home minister said. The Bill says that “conversion from one religion to another by misrepresentation, force, fraud, undue influence, coercion, allurement or marriage’’ is prohibited.
  9. 82-year-old Assam woman, whose son killed himself for being doubtful citizen, declared Indian: Akol Rani Namasudra was summoned by the Foreigners Tribunal in February, nine years after her son died by suicide as he was asked to prove his citizenship.
  10. Campbell Wilson appointed CEO and MD of Air India: He is currently the chief executive officer of Scoot, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singapore Airlines.