A look at the headlines right now:

  1. US suspends fast processing of H-1B visas, workers will now have to wait months instead of weeks: Companies said this would derail their staffing plans, even as the country’s immigration services claimed it would help them clear a backlog of applications.
  2. Assembly elections: Voting begins in phase 6 of Uttar Pradesh polls, phase 1 in Manipur: A total of 49 seats are being contested in UP, and 38 in the north-eastern state.
  3. RSS sacks leader who offered Rs 1-crore bounty on the head of Kerala chief minister: Kundan Chandrawat had retracted his offer on Thursday night saying he had made an ‘emotional statement’.
  4. UP airports on alert after reports say rape-accused minister Gayatri Prajapati is planning to flee: The Immigration Department and the Sashtra Seema Bal have been asked to keep an eye out for the politician, who is on the run.
  5. EC refuses to accept Dinakaran’s response on Sasikala being made AIADMK chief: The commission claimed he was not a recognised officer bearer of the party.
  6. Schoolchildren will no longer get their midday meals unless they enrol for Aadhaar, says Centre: An HRD ministry notification says students of Classes 1 to 8 must sign up for the identity number by June 30.
  7. China will take care of India’s concerns if Tawang is handed over, says former boundary negotiator: The British government created the border dispute, we should not let the ghosts of colonialism continue to haunt our bilateral relations, said Dai Bingguo.
  8. Pakistan will not extradite alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, Sartaj Aziz tells Senate: The foreign affairs adviser said a case was being prepared against the Indian national who was arrested from Balochistan in March 2016.
  9. Soldier who exposed ‘sahayak system’ in Army found dead near Nashik camp: Lance Naik Roy Mathew had featured in a clip that highlighted the prevalent ‘buddy system’ from the British era at the Deolali Cantonment.
  10. Ambedkarite scholar Krishna Kiravale found dead in his Kolhapur home: The former head of the Marathi department at Shivaji University was known for his extensive work on Dalit literature.