1.Robert Prevost, a missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first Pope from the United States in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.

2.Israeli strikes across Gaza killed at least 92 people, including women, children and a local journalist, officials said Wednesday (May 7, 2025), as Israel prepares to ramp up its campaign in the strip, with the devastating war now entering its 20th month.

3.Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna has forwarded to the President and the Prime Minister the in-house committee report on allegations about the discovery of partially burnt sacks of currency notes in a gutted storeroom of Highcourt judge justice Yashwant Varma's  earlier official residence in Delhi after a fire on March 14.

4.A Delhi court on Thursday (May 8, 2025) deferred the hearing in the National Heraid money- laundering case  involving Congress   leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to May 21 and 22, 2025.

5.Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi Thursday said his government has sanctioned Rs 68 crore for the infrastructure development of 17th-century temple Tara Tarini Temple in Ganjam district.

6. In a step towards ensuring public safety, a power utility has issued 1,229 notices to individuals and establishments for alleged unauthorised constructions near overhead electricity distribution lines in eight southern districts of Odisha.

7.Odisha's Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj Thursday said the state government can now appoint vice-chancellors and faculty members across various universities, following the Supreme Court's decision to lift the stay order on such hearings.

8.The Supreme Court on Thursday (May 8, 2025) observed that if Rohingya refugees are found to be ‘foreigners’ under the Foreigners Act, they will be dealt with by the Centre in accordance with law.

9.India recorded over 1 crore deaths in 2021 — the second year of the COVID-19 lockdown — which was around 21 lakh deaths more than in 2020, according to two key reports on registered births and deaths published this week by the Registrar General of India (RGI) after a five-year gap.

10. The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday (May 8, 2025) decided to close all the educational institutes for the next two days.

11.The Supreme Court has found the “ludicrous” comments made by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey against the court and Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna not worth the trouble of initiating a contempt of court action.

12.India shot down Pakistani JF-17 fighter jets Thursday following Islamabad’s missile attacks targeting civilian areas in Jammu and nearby regions.

13.Aerial attacks by Pakistan targeting Jammu as well as several military stations near the western border were successfully foiled by India’s air defence systems.

14.A blackout was enforced in several districts, including Pathankot, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Mohali in Punjab and the Union Territory Chandigarh.

15.President Droupadi Murmu hhas given sanction for the prosecution of former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in the case alleging money laundering related to the ‘Land for Jobs scam’, according to the Enforcement Directorate sources.