1.The parliamentary constituencies going to the polls are Sambalpur, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Puri. A total of 64 candidates are vying for the six Lok Sabha seats, while 383 contestants are competing for the 42 Assembly segments.

2.The Supreme Court Friday refused an NGO’s plea to issue the Election Commission directions to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website during the Lok Sabha polls, saying a ‘hands-off approach’ needs to be adopted during the elections

3.More than 23 years after the complaint was registered, a Delhi court Friday convicted Narmada Bachao Andolan leader and activist Medha Patkar in a defamation case lodged against her by VK Saxena, the incumbent lieutenant governor, saying reputation is one of the “most valuable assets” and significantly impacts one’s standing in society.

4.Amid scorching summer, the total live storage available in 150 key reservoirs across India is 24 per cent of the total live storage capacity, marking a 21 per cent decrease recorded during the same period last year, according to official data.

5. Results of the Class X examinations, also called matriculation, conducted by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha will be declared May 26, an official said.

6.More than 26,000 displaced Kashmiri Pandit voters from across the country are eligible to vote at 34 polling stations in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag constituency Saturday.

7.The Bombay High Court Friday permitted the sale of liquor in Mumbai after the announcement of Lok Sabha poll results June 4.

8.A depression in the Bay of Bengal is likely to concentrate into a severe cyclonic storm and make landfall along the adjoining coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh around May 26 midnight, bringing heavy rain in the coastal districts of the state and in north Odisha, the Met department said Friday.

9. A Delhi court Friday sent Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s close aide Bibhav Kumar to four-day judicial custody in connection with the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal.

10.Melbourne, More than 100 people are believed to have been killed Friday in a landslide that buried a village in a remote, mountainous part of Papua New Guinea, and an emergency response is underway, the South Pacific island nation’s leader and news media said.

11.Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognises the current battlefield lines, four Russian sources told Reuters, saying he is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond.

 12.Internet major Google has proposed an investment in e-commerce major Flipkart to buy a minority stake during the company’s fresh funding round, the Walmart group firm said Friday.

13. Odisha’s Aahaan Mishra bagged a triple crown at the Championship Series (CS7) tennis tournament which ended Friday at the Kalinga Stadium tennis complex here. The event was organised by the Khurda District Tennis Association.

14.Ahead of the Phase III Odisha Elections, the Excise Department has ramped up its crackdown on the liquor mafia, illegal brown sugar dealers and Ganja mafia. As a result, there has been a significant increase in the seizure of liquor, Ganja and Heroin up until May 23.

15.The Odisha Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Friday directed the Collectors of four districts to ensure preparatory measures in view of the Depression over the central Bay of Bengal.Odisha SRC Satyabrata Sahu has asked the District Collectors of Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, & Mayurbhanj to remain in alert and take all preparatory measures to face any eventuality.