Voting in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 started early morning on Friday. The first phase will see 102 out of 543 Lok Sabha seats go to polls in 17 states and four Union Territories (UTs).

Social networking service Instagram launched a new feature aimed at encouraging voters to participate in the elections. Upon opening the app, Instagram gives an alert on top which says, "Voting in India’s Lok Sabha elections starts today, April 19."

The Supreme Court on Friday asked yoga guru Ramdev to implead the complainants, who have lodged cases against him over his alleged remarks against the use of allopathic medicines during the Covid pandemic, as party in his plea seeking stay of criminal proceedings.

The Patna and Raipur chapters of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) have lodged complaints in 2021 alleging Ramdev's remarks were likely to cause prejudice to Covid control mechanism and may dissuade people from availing proper treatment.

Shares of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) were down by 4.2 per cent at Rs 560.20 intraday on Friday.

Similarly, other oil and marketing companies (OMCs) such as Indian Oil Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) slumped 4.1 per cent each at Rs 162.20 and Rs 457, respectively in intraday deals.

Cryptocurrencies fell heavily and bitcoin broke below $60,000 on Friday in a rush out of risky assets following reports of an Israeli missile strike on Iran.

Bitcoin slid more than 5.5 per cent to $59,961 in the Asia session as the US dollar rose broadly. Ether fell by a similar margin, dropping below the $3,000 barrier to $2,895.

Israeli missiles targeted a site in Iran in response to a recent drone and missile attack launched by Iran, reportedly in retaliation against an alleged Israeli airstrike on Iranian embassy in Syria, according to a report in ABC News.

ABC News reported on the unfolding situation, amid fears that the clash between Israel and Iran might escalate into a wider regional conflict.

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