1.The Supreme Court Friday issued directions that the postgraduate medical entrance exam scheduled for June 15 be conducted in a single shift, saying holding it in two shifts ‘creates arbitrariness’.

2.External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Friday asserted that India will never give in to nuclear blackmail, and those who “sponsor, nurture and utilize” terrorism should be made to pay a heavy price.

3.India’s economic growth slowed to 7.4 per cent in the January-March period, and pulled down the annual growth rate for 2024-25 to a fouryear low of 6.5 per cent, mainly due to the manufacturing sector.

4.The Hindu Kush Himalaya, where glaciers feed rivers supporting two billion people, could lose up to 75 per cent of its ice by the end of the century if global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius, according to a new study.

5.The Supreme Court Friday initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against Chandigarh-based journalist and YouTuber Ajay Shukla for his "scandalous", defamatory and contemptuous remarks against a few apex court judges in a video uploaded on his channel.

6.More than 118 Pakistani forward posts and their surveillance system were completely destroyed by the BSF during Operation Sindoor, dealing a major blow to the neighbouring country.

7.The prestigious National Defence Academy Friday witnessed history as the first batch of 17 female cadets marched alongside more than 300 male counterparts towards the ‘Antim Pag’ in a spectacular display of integration.

8.Two Indian peacekeepers, Brigadier General Amitabh Jha and Havildar Sanjay Singh, who lost their lives while serving under the UN fl ag last year, were honoured posthumously by the United Nations on International Day of UN Peacekeepers

9.The Income Tax department Friday said it has made available the excel utility for ITR-1 and ITR-4 for AY 2025-26, which will enable taxpayers to fi le their income tax returns. With the enabling of these utilities, taxpayers can start fi ling their ITRs for income earned in 2024-25

10. A deputy director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Odisha – arrested for taking Rs20 lakh as bribe from a Bhubaneswar-based businessman – was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days .

11.Odisha’s fi rst BJP MLA Prasanna Patanayak died at a private hospital here Friday, family sources said. Patanayak was 76.

12. IFFCO announces Rs3,811 cr as profit before tax for the FY24-25 along with 47 per cent increase in the sales of nano fertilisers. This FY, 365.09 Lakh bottles of Nano-Fertilizers were sold as compared to 248.95 lakh bottles sold in the previous FY (2023-2024). IFFCO recorded a turnover of Rs41,244 crore during the FY 24-25

13.Israel has accepted a new US proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas, the White House says.

14.Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari Friday signed into law a bill fi xing the minimum age for marriage at 18 years to curb child marriages despite opposition from right-wing clerics.

15.India's top men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stayed on course for their maiden title of the season, storming into the Singapore Open semifi nals with a straightgame win over world No 1 Malaysian duo of Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin here Friday.