A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Delhi violence toll rises to 53, police say 654 cases registered: The police said 1,820 people had either been arrested or detained in relation to the violence. Suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain was arrested on Thursday for his alleged role in an IB officer’s murder. Meanwhile, the SC refused to hear a victim’s intervention plea in the contempt case against activist Harsh Mander.
  2. Coronavirus infections rise to 30 in India: The Delhi government has ordered primary schools to be shut till March 31, and PM Modi postponed his trip to Belgium for the EU-India summit. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi compared the Centre’s assurances to the Titanic captain saying the ship was unsinkable. Passengers from Italy and South Korea now need to submit a ‘negative’ certificate to enter India. Meanwhile, Chinese scientists said two strains of coronavirus have evolved, one of which is more infectious.
  3. 2012 Delhi gangrape convicts to be hanged on March 20 at 5.30 am, says court: This is the fourth time the court has issued the death warrants.
  4. Supreme Court asks for pleas challenging Citizenship Act amendments to be mentioned after Holi break: Senior counsel Kapil Sibal had sought an early hearing of the petitions.
  5. Seven Congress MPs suspended for rest of the Budget Session for disrupting proceedings: Chaos prevailed in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on coronavirus when BJP MP Hanuman Beniwal said Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi should be tested for the infection.
  6. Justice S Muralidhar receives grand farewell before transfer, called ‘Kohinoor’ of Delhi High Court: ‘When justice has to triumph, it will triumph,’ the judge said while addressing the gathering in the court.
  7. EC issues voter ID with dog’s photo to West Bengal man, corrects it later: The man, Sunil Karmakar of Ramnagar village in Murshidabad district, claimed the error was intentional.
  8. Provident fund interest rates lowered from 8.65% to 8.50% for 2019-’20, says Centre: Labour minister Santosh Gangwar said the EPFO’s trustees had decided to reduce the rate for this financial year.
  9. Narendra Modi’s foreign visits cost Rs 446.52 crore since 2015-’16, says Centre: In the ongoing 2019-’20 financial year, the expenditure on Modi’s foreign trips has been Rs 46.23 crore so far.
  10. Bombay HC dismisses Chanda Kochhar’s petition against her termination: She had resigned from ICICI Bank in October 2018 after questions were raised about a Rs 3,250-crore loan to Videocon.