1.As many as eight persons were killed and more than 60 others injured following an explosion at a chemical factory in the district here in Maharashtra Thursday afternoon, officials said.

2. Seven Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in a forest along Narayanpur-Bijapur inter-district border in Chhattisgarh Thursday, police said.

3.Curtains came down Thursday on the high-decibel campaigning for the third phase of elections in the state wherein over 94.48 lakh voters will decide the fate of 447 candidates in fray for six Lok Sabha seats and 42 Assembly segments May 25.

4.The voter turnout in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls held May 20 has now climbed to 62.2 per cent, the Election Commission said Thursday with women outnumbering men.

5.The Election Commission has opposed in the Supreme Court an NGO's demand to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling for each phase of the Lok Sabha elections, contending it will “vitiate” the electoral space and cause “chaos” in the poll machinery in the midst of the general elections.

6.Three districts in north Odisha – Bhadrak, Balasore and Kendrapara – are likely to witness isolated heavy rainfall as the present low pressure area over southwest and adjoining west central Bay of Bengal (BoB) is turning into a severe cyclonic storm and will reach Bangladesh and West Bengal coasts.

 7.On World Turtle Day Thursday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik called upon people to create a welcoming environment and a safe nesting cove for the endangered Olive Ridley turtles.

 8.“This year, the census was undertaken after seven years,” informed Rourkela DFO, Jasobant Sethi. “A total of 21 elephants are staying in the division. Nine of them were found in Rajgangpur range and 12 in Lathitaka range. All of them were found in healthy condition ,” Sethi added.

9.Rourkela,  Forest personnel here seized two pieces of ivory and nabbed 11 persons in this connection during a joint operation with police.

10.The Goa Forest department has taken a strong objection to a private festival near a turtle nesting site at Morjim beach in North Goa scheduled to be held May 25.

11.The Delhi Police may not visit Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence Thursday to question his parents in connection with AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal “assault” case, sources said.

12.About 121 candidates contesting in the Lok Sabha elections have declared themselves illiterate, and 359 have stated that they have studied up to Class V, according to an analysis of the reports shared by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

13.Sri Lanka police Thursday said they have nabbed an accomplice of four of its citizens arrested in India who was on an alleged mission to carry out terror activities there at the behest of the banned Islamic State.

14.Over a dozen colleges including Delhi University’s prestigious Lady Sri Ram College, Hansraj College and Ramjas College received bomb threats Thursday but nothing suspicious was found after thorough searches, officials said, a day after a similar e-mail sent alarm bells ringing in the North Block.

 15.India’s peak power demand hit the season’s high of 235.06 GW Wednesday mainly due to excessive use of cooling appliances like air conditioners and coolers amid severe heat waves in most parts of the country.