A look at the headlines right now:

  1. BJP, Congress release fresh list of candidates ahead of nomination deadline for Gujarat elections: Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani will contest the polls elections independently from Vadgam, and Arvind Kejriwal urged voters to choose any party but the BJP.
  2. Hadiya has been ‘brainwashed’ and ‘mentally kidnapped’, her father’s lawyer says ahead of SC hearing: The advocate said Hadiya’s family hoped the Supreme Court would agree with the Kerala High Court that she did not have a stable mind.
  3. Volcano alert raised to highest level in Bali after ‘explosive eruptions’ are heard from Mount Agung: Dozens of flights were delayed or cancelled, and people within 10 km of the mount Agung were told to evacuate.
  4. Legislature, judiciary and executive must strengthen each other within Constitution’s limits, says Modi: Earlier at the event, the chief justice had refuted the law minister’s claim that the judiciary was encroaching on the domain of the legislature and the executive.
  5. Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approves bill to award death penalty to rapists of girls aged 12 and below: The Public Safety Bill also proposes capital punishment for convicts of gangrape cases and harsher penalties for stalking, harassing or molesting a woman.
  6. Violent anti-blasphemy protests end after law minister resigns: The agitators held Zahid Hamid responsible for the amended oath that election candidates must take while they are sworn in.
  7. Indian Muslims are descendants of Ram, they must help build temple in Ayodhya, says Giriraj Singh: Meanwhile, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader said the construction of the Ram Temple will begin at the disputed site in October 2018.
  8. Gujarat EC notice to archbishop for letter seeking prayers ‘to save India from nationalist forces’: The Gandhinagar District Election Officer Satish Patel said it was an ‘attempt to misguide voters and confuse the minority community’.
  9. Filmmakers across India stop shoots for 15 minutes in protest against ‘Padmavati’ agitations: The Indian Films and TV Directors’ Association and 19 other organisations took part in the campaign to protect the right to freedom of expression.
  10. Work on Shivaji memorial yet to take off, but Maharashtra has already spent Rs 15 crore on it: A response to an RTI query said that the government spent Rs 10 crore on the project report and another Rs 5 crore for the foundation ceremony in 2016.