India: Today’s news in pictures

India news in pictures -- a roundup of today’s news across the country, from the declaration of CBSE’s Class 12th results with the top scorers netting 499 out of 500 marks to a scare at the Charminar after a portion of the monument’s stucco fell following heavy rain.

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Charminar, the symbol of Hyderabad, has suffered damage as a piece of lime stucco work on one of its minarets fell off following unseasonal rains, officials said on Thursday. A portion of the stucco work detached from the granite slab on the minaret facing Mecca Masjid side and fell off late on Wednesday, sending panic among the people around the monument. (PTI File)

UPDATED ON MAY 02, 2019 04:55 PM IST

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Odisha started evacuating lakhs of people a day before an extremely severe Cyclone Fani is expected to make landfall near the pilgrim town of Puri, officials said. The Indian Meteorological Department said Cyclone Fani is heading towards Puri with wind speeds ranging between 170-180km per hour and is expected to make landfall on Friday afternoon near Balukhanda area. (Handout / NOAA / AFP)

UPDATED ON MAY 02, 2019 04:55 PM IST

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The Konkan Kanya Express and the Mandovi Express, two of the busiest trains on the Konkan Railway line, will get new and improved German designed coaches from next month. Railway authorities have decided to replace existing coaches made at the Integrated Coach Factory in Chennai with Linke Hofmann Busch coaches from June 10. The new coaches are expected to be more comfortable and safer. (Bachchan Kumar / HT File)

UPDATED ON MAY 02, 2019 04:55 PM IST

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he Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday released the Class 12 results for all regions with 23 students grabbing top three positions. Two students stood first, three got second position and 18 came third. The total pass percentage for the country is 83.4 percent. Joint toppers for the exam are Hansika Shukla (pictured) and Karishma Arora with 499 marks out of 500. (Sakib Ali / HT Photo)

UPDATED ON MAY 02, 2019 04:55 PM IST

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A site inspection of Ulhas river, which comes under the Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council, has revealed high levels of water pollution, with a section of the river along Badlapur bubbling with thick foam and filth even after sewage treatment. According to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, municipal corporations are lagging far behind in their compliance to the Supreme Court’s directions to revive the river. (Rishikesh Choudhary / HT File)

UPDATED ON MAY 02, 2019 04:55 PM IST

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Describing the UN designating JeM chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist as a great diplomatic victory for India, the BJP said on Thursday. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the current dispensation succeeded in an attempt the country has been making for the last 10 years, “but then they (opposition) says ‘this is trivial, what is big in it.” (Mohd Zakir / HT PHOTO)

UPDATED ON MAY 02, 2019 04:55 PM IST

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With most people out on summer vacation, Mumbai city is facing a shortage of blood, experts have claimed. At least 25,000 donors are needed every month to meet the city’s blood requirement. Vinay Shetty, founder of Think Foundation, which organises blood camps in the city, has termed it a “crisis”. An official at JJ Hospital’s blood bank said none of the negative blood types were available there. (Burhaan Kinu / HT Archve)

UPDATED ON MAY 02, 2019 04:55 PM IST

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A CBI court on Thursday dropped the proceedings against retired Gujarat police officers DG Vanzara and NK Amin in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. Special judge JK Pandya pronounced the judgment, saying that the probe agency couldn’t get the required sanction to prosecute the officers. (Bhushan Koyande / HT Archive)

UPDATED ON MAY 02, 2019 04:55 PM IST