A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Imran Khan’s party leads Pakistan election results even as opponents allege rigging: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was leading in 113 of the 272 seats of the National Assembly with nearly half the votes counted.
  2. Bihar chief minister orders police to hand over Muzaffarpur rapes inquiry to CBI: State Director General of Police KS Dwivedi had said on Wednesday that there was no need to hand the case over to the central agency.
  3. Sensex, Nifty hit all-time high in morning session on optimism about earnings, trade deal: State Bank of India was the top gainer on both indices early in the day.
  4. ‘Remove Justice AK Goel as NGT head, or Dalit protests may intensify,’ BJP ally tells PM: Lok Janshakti Party MP Chirag Paswan has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to demand Goel’s removal.
  5. Explosion outside US embassy in Beijing, bomber injured: The police had earlier apprehended a woman who allegedly attempted to immolate herself outside the building.
  6. DMK wants Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Tamil Nadu deputy CM to quit over air ambulance row: MK Stalin questioned how a defence helicopter can be provided for use by a private individual.
  7. Supreme Court asks Centre, UP government to identify one authority to maintain Taj Mahal: Justice Madan Lokur criticised the state for preparing a vision document on protecting the monument without consulting the Archaeological Survey of India.
  8. Centre has no role in French firm’s deal with my company, Anil Ambani writes to Rahul Gandhi: The billionaire businessman also refuted the Congress president’s allegations that the Reliance Group lacked the experience to get the deal.
  9. Japan executes six cult members for 1995 sarin attack on Tokyo subway: They were the last of the 13 convicted for the attack that killed 13 and injured thousands.
  10. Evidence of underground lake of liquid water found on Mars: A spacecraft has detected a 20-km wide reservoir about 1.5 km beneath the ice on the Martian South Pole.