A look at the headlines right now:

  1. At least 100 killed due to rain, floods in Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu: The Army said that it had rescued about 6,000 people and evacuated about 15,000 people from flood-hit areas of the four states till Friday. 
  2. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi refuse to participate in selection process to choose next Congress president: A final decision will reportedly be taken by 9 pm on Saturday after consultation with state leaders.
  3. National Conference moves Supreme Court against President’s order on Article 370: The editor of ‘Kashmir Times’ also filed a petition in the top court, seeking freedom for journalists. 
  4. Financier Jeffrey Epstein commits suicide in New York prison: His death came a day after unsealed documents revealed the extent of his abuse of young women at his home.  
  5. ‘People are saying we can now bring girls from Kashmir,’ says Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Khattar: Rahul Gandhi called the comments ‘despicable’ while the Delhi Commission for Women said an FIR should be filed against Khattar.
  6. At least 34 killed, scores feared missing in landslide in Myanmar: Torrential rainfall burst riverbanks across the country and coastal communities have been warned of higher tides.  
  7. Former BJP MLA booked for allegedly raping daughter-in-law: The incident reportedly happened on the intervening night of December 31, 2018 and January 1 this year, and the woman filed a complaint on Thursday.  
  8. Unnao rape complainant’s counsel alleges CBI deliberately did not name MLA in father’s murder case: The agency denied the allegations, and said the investigation officer collected the evidence in the case in all fairness and there was no ‘mala fide intention’.  
  9. At least 57 killed as fuel tanker explodes near Tanzania’s Morogoro town: The police said many of those killed and injured were taxi drivers and those who had been siphoning petrol from the tanker when it burst into flames.  
  10. MHA refutes reports on thousands protesting in Kashmir, calls it fabricated and incorrect: A spokesperson for the Ministry of Home Affairs said there were a few stray protests but none of those involved more than 20 people.