HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 5 pm: NATION: DEL17 VIRUS-LD CASES India adds record 4.12 lakh fresh COVID-19 cases, 3,980 fatalities New Delhi: New coronavirus cases and deaths in India hit a record daily high with 4,12,262 new infections and 3,980 fatalities being reported, taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,10,77,410 and the death toll to 2,30,168, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

DEL25 2NDLD AJIT SINGH RLD chief Ajit Singh dies of COVID-19 New Delhi: Former Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Ajit Singh passed away at a Gurgaon hospital on Thursday morning battling COVID-19, his family said.

DEL33 VIRUS-MUTANTS-STATES COVID: UK variant dominates N India, double mutant Maha, Guj, K'taka New Delhi, May 6 (PTI) The UK strain of coronavirus is currently dominating parts of north India while double mutant could be found mostly in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, Sujeet Singh, Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has said.

DEL64 DEF-RAJNATH-COVID Defence organisations engaged in mitigating people's sufferings amid COVID-19 surge: Rajnath New Delhi: The Indian armed forces as well as organisations like Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and National Cadet Corps (NCC) are engaged in mitigating the sufferings of the people amid the COVID-19 surge, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday.

DEL51 BJP-MINISTER-ATTACK-NADDA Nadda condemns attack on Muraleedharan's car in WB, says 'TMC-sponsored' violence at its extreme New Delhi: BJP president JP Nadda on Thursday condemned the attack on Union Minister V Muraleedharan's convoy in West Bengal and claimed that ''TMC-sponsored'' violence was in full swing in state after the assembly poll results were declared.

DEL63 DL-OXYGEN-CM Delhi needs 700 MT oxygen supply daily: Kejriwal New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal thanked the Centre on Thursday for supplying Delhi with 730 metric tonnes of oxygen and requested hospitals to increase COVID beds that they had to cut down due to shortage of the life-saving gas in the past few days.

DEL27 VIRUS-OXYGEN-CONCENTRATORS-CUSTOMS 3,000 oxygen concentrators received as foreign aid dispatched, no pendency with Customs: Centre New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry on Thursday said no oxygen concentrator, received as aid from abroad, is lying with the customs authorities at any port of import as these consignments are being cleared swiftly.

DEL36 PCI-JOURNALISTS-COVID WARRIORS Include journalists in 'COVID warriors' category: Press Council to Centre, state govts New Delhi: The Press Council of India on Thursday reiterated its recommendation to the Centre and state governments that journalists be included in the category of 'COVID warriors' and also given insurance cover DEL32 MHA-BENGAL-GUV MHA asks WB governor for report on law and order in state New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry has asked West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar to give a report on the law and order situation in the state, particularly the violence that took place following the election results last weekend, officials said on Thursday.

BOM4 MH-HC-DABHOLKAR-BAIL Dabholkar killing: HC grants bail to accused Vikram Bhave Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Vikram Bhave, an accused in the case of killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in 2013.

LEGAL: LGD17 SC-LD EC Critical remarks of Madras HC against poll panel not part of judicial order: SC New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said the question of expunging the Madras High Court's critical remarks holding the Election Commission responsible for surge in COVID cases does not arise as they are not part of judicial order and also trashed the plea that media be restrained from reporting observations of court proceedings, saying it will be a "retrograde" act.

LGD25 SC-OXYGEN-KARNATAKA Centre moves SC against Karnataka HC order asking enhancement of LMO for state New Delhi: The Centre Thursday moved the Supreme Court against an order of the Karnataka High Court order asking it to increase daily liquid medical oxygen (LMO) allocation for state from present 965 MT to 1200 MT for treating COVID-19 patients.

FOREIGN: FGN31 VIRUS-AUS-INDIA-AID Australia's Victoria state to send 41 million dollar worth of aid to India to tackle COVID crisis Melbourne: The Australian state of Victoria on Thursday announced 41 million dollar worth of aid and medical equipment, including 1,000 ventilators, for India to assist it to curb the devastating second wave of COVID-19. By Natasha Chaku FGN24 PAK-JADHAV Pak court asks India to cooperate in Jadhav case Islamabad: A top Pakistani court hearing the case of death row convict Kulbhushan Jadhav has asked India to cooperate in the legal proceeding over the matter, saying appearing before the court did not mean a waiver of sovereignty. By Sajjad Hussain FGN25 VIRUS-LANKA-INDIA-TRAVEL-BAN COVID-19: Sri Lanka bans travellers from India with immediate effect Colombo: Sri Lanka on Thursday announced that all arrivals from India will be banned with immediate effect due to the record rise in COVID-19 cases in the neighbouring country.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)