The big news: Opposition parties to field common presidential candidate, and nine other top stories
Other headlines: Rahul Gandhi was summoned by the ED again on Friday, and Mumbai recorded the highest daily coronavirus cases in nearly five months.
A look at the top headlines of the day:
- Opposition parties take resolution to field common candidate for presidential polls: Leaders of 16 parties attended a meeting called by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. However, four parties did not attend the meeting.
- Rahul Gandhi summoned by ED for fourth day of questioning on Friday in National Herald case: The Congress leader appeared before the agency for the third consecutive day on Wednesday. Gandhi has faced over 30 hours of questioning over the last three days at the Enforcement Directorate office.
- Mumbai records 2,293 coronavirus cases – highest daily count in nearly five months: Maharastra detected four more cases of BA.5 Omicron subvariant of Covid-19. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 test positivity rate in Delhi climbed to 7.01% on Wednesday as the city recorded 1,375 new infections.
- Zee News directed to take down video on Muslim population: News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority chairperson Justice AK Sikri said the headline of the show was ‘telecast without any data’.
- Prayagraj Police put up posters of 59 persons accused in June 10 violence: The police said that if they do not surrender, their houses will be auctioned. Protests had erupted in several parts of India on Friday against the remarks made by BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal about Prophet Muhammad.
- Protests against Agnipath scheme erupt in many cities: The protestors said that they have been waiting for regular recruitment for the armed forces, but the Centre has introduced the short-term duty scheme instead.
- News regulator asks four channels to remove videos of alleged ‘media trial’ against Umar Khalid: The regulatory body objected to the ‘sensationalisation of some taglines and tickers’ by India TV, Aaj Tak, Zee News and Zee Hindustan.
- Fresh landslides in Guwahati, several areas waterlogged as rains continue: Eight out of 35 districts of Assam are flooded due to the rising water levels in river Brahmaputra and its tributaries since the heavy downpour.
- Cabinet clears proposal to hold 5G spectrum auction by July-end: A total of 72097.85 MHz of spectrum with a validity period of 20 years will be put to auction, the government said.
- Microsoft shuts down Internet Explorer after 27 years: The first version of the Internet Explorer was released in 1995, at a time when Netscape Navigator, the first most popular browser was dominating the markets.