Storm, squall kills many in North India, several recipients skip National Film Awards, and other top stories of the day

At least 64 people were killed and 47 others injured after hailstorm, lightning and dust-storm hit several pockets of Uttar Pradesh on May 2, officials said on Thursday. Agra reported the highest number of deaths: 43. Three persons died in Bijnore, two in Saharanpur and one each in Bareilly, Chitrakoot, Rae Bareli and Unnao districts.

At least 22 persons were killed and over 100 injured in different parts of Rajasthan as a high-speed dust storm followed by thundershowers wreaked havoc on Wednesday night, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Trees and electricity poles were uprooted and houses collapsed in the high-intensity squall.

The Centre on Thursday informed the Supreme Court about its inability to frame the Cauvery draft water-sharing scheme within the May 3 deadline given by the apex court, saying, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ministers are travelling.”

Only anti-Dalit atrocities' complaints which are felt “absurd” or “absolutely” frivolous need to be probed by the police before proceeding to arrest the perpetrator, Justice A.K. Goel qualified the apex court's March 20 judgment which led to widespread unrest and violence across the country.

More than 60 National Film Awards recipients on Thursday said they will skip the ceremony this evening because President Ram Nath Kovind will be presenting only 11 awards, a departure from established tradition.

A crew of nine Puerto Ricans was flying an Air National Guard C-130 into retirement in Arizona when it crashed onto a highway in Georgia on Wednesday, and authorities said there were no survivors.

A vending contractor has been slapped with a fine of ₹1 lakh by the Railways after a video surfaced suggesting that water from a train toilet was being used to prepare tea and coffee, the South Central Railway (SCR) here said on Wednesday.

Looking to move on from one of the darkest periods in its 140-year history, Cricket Australia has chosen Justin Langer as its new head coach, hoping the 105-test veteran will lead the national team out of the fallout from the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the “unfortunate death” of a woman government official, allegedly shot dead by a hotel owner in Kasauli during a demolition drive, was the result of “non-implementation of the law”.

Two black men arrested while waiting at a Philadelphia Starbucks store reached a confidential financial settlement with the coffee chain and dropped legal claims against the city.