A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Maharashtra tussle continues, Uddhav Thackeray tells BJP, ‘call me if you decide to give us CM’s post, else don’t’: Nitin Gadkari said BJP would get Shiv Sena’s support and Devendra Fadnavis would be the chief minister.
  2. Ahead of Ayodhya verdict, Home Ministry asks all states to enhance security, sends extra personnel to UP: On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked Union ministers not to make irresponsible statements ahead of the verdict.
  3. Navjot Sidhu gets political clearance to attend Kartarpur inauguration in Pakistan, say reports: Earlier in the day, the Congress leader had said he would visit Pakistan for the ceremony if the Centre did not reply to his letters asking for permission.
  4. IIT-JEE made available in regional languages to states only on request, says testing agency: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said the state has written to the National Testing Agency asking it to set the exam paper in Bengali too.
  5. Twitter India dismisses allegations of bias, says it enforces rules impartially: The social media firm, which has come under fire for suspending certain accounts, said the rules get implemented ‘regardless of users’ belief or background’.
  6. Air pollution levels shoot up in Kolkata and parts of South India, experts link it to smog in north: The air quality in cities such as Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata ranged between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories on Thursday afternoon.
  7. ‘Some people suffer in every curfew,’ observes Supreme Court while hearing plea against restrictions in J&K: Advocate Kapil Sibal argued that large-scale restrictions under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure were ‘constitutionally impermissible’.
  8. Cyclone Bulbul ‘very likely’ to intensify into severe cyclonic storm, Maha to weaken to a depression: The cyclonic storm Bulbul may head towards the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh, the weather department said.
  9. Former Ranji cricketers Gautam, Qazi arrested in Karnataka Premier League spot-fixing scandal: Police said the two were involved in fixing in the KPL 2019 finals between Bellary Tuskers and Hubli Tigers after accepting Rs 20 lakh each for slow batting.
  10. SC reconfirms death penalty after dismissing convict’s review petition in 2010 Coimbatore murder case: Justice Sanjiv Khanna passed a dissenting judgement, saying Manoharan should spend the rest of his life in jail without parole.