A look at the headlines right now:

  1. Most political parties supported idea of simultaneous elections at meeting with Modi, says Rajnath Singh: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reportedly said frequent elections affect economic growth and ‘rock the spirit of cooperative federalism.   
  2. On GDP row, PM’s advisory body says other countries are also using new system of calculating growth rates: The council refuted former Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian’s claim that GDP growth was overestimated between 2011-’12 and 2016-’17. 
  3. BJP MP Om Birla elected Lok Sabha speaker, vows to run House impartially: He was the only candidate in the fray as the Congress and its allies did not field any nominee.
  4. Investigators into MH17 crash say three Russians, one Ukrainian identified as suspects: The accused will face murder charges. 
  5. At least 90 people dead so far in Aurangabad, Gaya and Nawada districts of Bihar due to heatwave: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered an environment survey of the state over the next four days. 
  6. Congress dissolves Karnataka committee a day after MLA Roshan Baig’s suspension: Baig alleged that he was being targeted, and said that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah could be the reason behind his suspension from the party.   
  7. West Bengal introduces 30% domicile quota in National University of Juridical Sciences, says report: The state Assembly had passed a bill on this matter in November 2018.   
  8. Arctic permafrost is thawing 70 years earlier than expected, find scientists, says report: Vladimir Romanovsky, who was part of the expedition to the Canadian Arctic, said this shows the climate is now warmer than at any time in the last 5,000 years.   
  9. Maharashtra Opposition demands probe into alleged leak of budget on Twitter: The CM refuted the allegations saying that the provisions were posted on social media 15 minutes after Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar started his speech. 
  10. Mine fragments indicate Iran is involved in oil tanker attacks, says US Navy expert: US officials have reportedly recovered a handprint and fingerprints that, according to them, can be used to build a criminal case against those responsible.