A look at the headlines right now:

  1. The Islamic State killed 39 Indian hostages, confirms Iraqi official: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed their deaths to Parliament and also denied giving their families false hope.
  2. Uttar Pradesh Police file case against teachers after Noida teenager allegedly commits suicide due to ‘pressure’: The family claimed the teachers touched the 15-year-old girl inappropriately and had failed her in her exams ‘intentionally’.  
  3. Delhi High Court issues notices to Raja, Kanimozhi on appeals filed by CBI and ED in 2G spectrum case: The bench also said the Rs 223-crore worth of properties that the Enforcement Directorate had attached during the trial will remain with the agency for now.  
  4. UGC to grant full autonomy to 62 universities and eight colleges, says Prakash Javadekar: These universities will remain under the UGC’s purview but will not have to seek permission to start new courses and departments.
  5. Today’s Google Doodle honours shehnai master Bismillah Khan on his 102nd birth anniversary: He is regarded as one of India’s most beloved musicians.
  6. Unidentified people hurl petrol bomb at BJP district head’s house in Coimbatore, damage his car: The incident, the second in as many weeks, came a day after social reformer Periyar’s statue was vandalised in Tamil Nadu.  
  7. Cambridge Analytica suspends its chief executive Alexander Nix in data breach row: British lawmakers summoned Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg in connection with the alleged data breach by Cambridge Analytica.
  8. Shooter killed after injuring two students at Maryland school in the US: Great Mills High School in St Mary’s County was briefly on lockdown after the armed student opened fire.
  9. Delhi court grants bail to JNU professor accused of sexual harassment soon after his arrest: The police registered eight separate cases against Atul Johri.
  10. Karnataka government’s decision on Lingayats is an attempt to divide Hindu votes, says Union minister: Meanwhile, a Congress leader disagreed with the move to grant Lingayats the tag of a separate religion and said the community was the same as the Veerashaivas.