A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Justice AK Sikri, who voted to sack CBI chief, turns down Commonwealth tribunal nomination, say reports: The decision to nominate the Supreme Court judge was taken ‘at the highest levels’ of government, said a news report.
  2. Congress says it will contest all Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh: Congress General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad said the party was not disappointed on being excluded from the alliance between the two regional political forces.
  3. Indian solider honey-trapped by ISI agent arrested, 50 Army men questioned: Military intelligence allegedly traced phone calls received from the spy to Jammu, and her Facebook account to Karachi.
  4. Opportunistic alliances want to build their empire while BJP seeks to serve country, says Narendra Modi: The prime minister told booth workers from five constituencies in Tamil Nadu that the saffron party wants to empower people, and not divide and rule.
  5. Arvind Kejriwal will not contest from Varanasi, says AAP leader Sanjay Singh: The party will contest all the seats in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Goa, the parliamentarian added.
  6. Bengali poet faces the ire of suspected Hindutva activists in Silchar, event venue vandalised: They were protesting against a controversial line in Srijato Bandopadhyay’s poem ‘Abhishap’ that contains an alleged derogatory reference to the trishul.
  7. Centre promulgates triple talaq ordinance again after failing to get Rajya Sabha’s approval: The government had first promulgated the ordinance in September, but could get a law to replace it passed only in the Lok Sabha.
  8. Lawyer Indra Sawhney thinking about challenging upper-caste quota in Supreme Court: Her petition in 1992 had led to the Mandal judgement that capped reservation at 50%.
  9. Rahul Gandhi changes stance on Sabarimala, says both tradition and women’s rights arguments are valid: He also justified his remarks about Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that had sparked a controversy last week.  
  10. Saudi teen who fled family welcomed in Canada, diplomatic row between the nations likely to escalate: The UN declared Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun’s case genuine last week after a friend vouched for her, saying she had been mistreated for denouncing Islam.