A look at the top headlines of the day:

  1. Demolition drive stops in violence-hit Jahangirpuri over an hour after Supreme Court stay: The drive was undertaken by the Bhartiya Janata Party-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation in Jahangirpuri area, four days after the locality was hit by communal violence. Even though news of the court directive broke on Twitter just before 11 am, bulldozers continued to raze the entrance gate of Jahangirpuri mosque, shops, homes and other structures.
  2. Delhi registers 1,009 new Covid-19 cases – highest since February 10: The number of cases was 59.65% higher than Tuesday’s tally of 632 cases. The test positivity rate increased to 5.70% from 4.42% a day earlier. Earlier on Wednesday, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal announced that wearing masks has been made mandatory in the Capital again.
  3. Four sanitation workers die while cleaning sewage tank in Haryana’s Hisar: The deceased have been identified as Surender Kumar (28), Mahender Singh (25) and Rajesh (26) – all residents of Hisar’s Budha Khera village, where the incident took place. The fourth worker, Rahul Kumar (27), hailed from Rohtak’s Hassangarh village.
  4. Punjab Police books former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas for comments against Arvind Kejriwal: Ahead of Punjab Assembly elections in February, Vishwas had alleged that Kejriwal was willing to take the support of separatists during the 2017 state polls. 
  5. After contractor’s death by suicide, Karnataka to set up panel to clear tenders for public projects: In a purported suicide note, the contractor had accused former minister KS Eshwarappa of asking for bribe to clear a bill for a state government project. The state government will set up a commission headed by a retired judge to clear tenders for every public project worth Rs 50 crore and above.
  6. TRS leader’s son, his friend arrested for allegedly abducting, raping 20-year-old woman in Telangana: Sheik Ghouse Pasha, one of the arrested men, is the son of Telangana Rashtra Samithi leader Mohammed Khaja. The police have filed a case under Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 363 (abduction), 376D (gang rape) and 374 (unlawful compulsory labour) of the Indian Penal Code.
  7. Netflix loses two lakh subscribers across the world in three months: This is for the first time in the last 10 years that the streaming platform has lost subscribers. The company cited inflation, the ongoing war in Ukraine and increased competition as reasons behind the decline in the number of subscribers.
  8. TV debates on criminal trials directly interfere with administration of justice, says Supreme Court:  The court warned media and the police against leaking any evidence in ongoing criminal cases. The bench’s observations came in a judgement in a case in which the court acquitted four people accused of dacoity and murder as the prosecution had failed to establish chain of circumstances leading to the crime
  9. India to provide assistance of $500 million to Sri Lanka: The island country’s foreign minister, who made the statement, also said that the money will be used to help the Sri Lankan government buy fuel.
  10. Julian Assange’s extradition to US approved by UK court: The case will now go to British Home Secretary Priti Patel to decide whether to allow the extradition. Assange faces 18 charges in the United States in connection with releasing five lakh secret files on American military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.