1.Two children in Nabarangpur district have been found to be infected with Rubella virus, a Health department official said, Wednesday.

2.UK-based pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca has started global withdrawal of its Covid-19 vaccine, which was provided in India as ‘Covishield’ in partnership with Serum Institute of India, days after it admitted to rare side effects of blood clotting and low platelet counts.

3.The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the Centre to not use ‘threat and coercion’ during search and seizure operations against traders for recovery of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and instead persuade them to clear the dues voluntarily.

4.The Cyber Crime Unit of state’s Crime Branch (CB) Wednesday arrested three directors of two fintech companies on charges of duping a man of `54.75 lakh on the promise of providing high returns last year.

5.The Odisha Police decided to deploy 55 platoons of force (one platoon comprises 30 security force personnel) to provide security during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow in the City here May 10, a senior police officer said Wednesday.

6.Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will collaborate with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar for artificial intelligence (AI) driven surveillance and other projects, officials said.

7.Five college students have been arrested for allegedly gang-raping a Plus II girl, police said Wednesday. The accused were forwarded to court later in the day which rejected their bail pleas.

8.The Kolkata Police warned of legal action against two users of micro-blogging site X for allegedly posting an “offensive, hateful and inflammatory meme” of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a senior officer said.

9.The Supreme Court Wednesday said it will not allow either the Centre or the West Bengal government to raise any political issue during the arguments on the state’s lawsuit which alleged that the CBI is going ahead with its investigations despite withdrawal of general consent by the state.

10.The teachers, students and other staff in all government and private schools in Rajasthan’s Kota have been barred from using mobile phones during the school hours, an official said.

11.Asserting that people of the country want change and are fed up of being lied to, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been using his imagination a lot in his speeches of late and not speaking on the basis of facts.

12. Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara Wednesday ruled out a CBI probe into the sexual abuse case against the JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is the NDA candidate from Hassan.

13.The Supreme Court Wednesday said cloud seeding or “depending on rain god” is not the answer to the raging forest fires in Uttarakhand and that authorities will have to take preventive measures to tackle the problem.

14.India received over $111 billion in remittances in 2022, the largest in the world, becoming the first country to reach and even surpass the $100 billion mark, the United Nations migration agency has said.

15.Three Indian nationals accused of killing Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year have appeared before a Canadian court through video for the first time to face homicide charges in a case that has soured CanadaIndia relations.

16India has contributed $500,000 to the UN Counter-Terrorism Trust Fund, underscoring its unwavering commitment to support multilateral efforts in the global fight against the scourge of terrorism.

17.Tech titan Google Wednesday launched the Google Wallet app for Android users in India, allowing them to securely store essentials like boarding passes, loyalty cards, event tickets, and public transport passes.

18.India’s central bank has asked non-bank finance companies (NBFC) to strictly adhere to a cap of `20,000 ($240) in cash loans, according to a letter seen by Reuters and two people aware of the development, in a bid to deter cash transactions.

19.Total vehicle retail sales in India rose 27 per cent year-on-year to 22,06,070 units in April as all segments, including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers, witnessed growth, industry body FADA said Wednesday.

20.Rapid solar energy deployment in India pushed the country past Japan to become the world’s third largest solar power generator in 2023, according to a new report. The report by global