Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Wednesday called for strengthening the role of the committee overseeing the ceasefire mechanism in southern Lebanon, urging continued international pressure on Israel to halt its violations, withdraw from occupied territories, and release Lebanese detainees.

His remarks came during a meeting with US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson, outgoing head of the ceasefire monitoring mechanism, US Major General Jasper Jeffers, and incoming committee head Major General Michael Leeney, who officially assumed his duties on Wednesday.

According to a statement released by Lebanon's presidency, Aoun emphasised that "the Lebanese army is fully carrying out its duties in the south, particularly south of the Litani River, where it continues to confiscate weapons and ammunition and dismantle armed groups."

He cited Israel's occupation of five strategic hills and ongoing violations as "the main obstacle to completing the army's deployment."

As the death toll in the devastating fire at a six-story hotel building at Madan Mohan Burman Street in central Kolkata has reached 15, a senior official of the West Bengal government and a member of the state cabinet admitted severe lapses in fire safety management at the construction.

The director general of the state fire services department, Ranveer Kumar, who reached the spot on Wednesday, said that the fire licence of the hotel had expired three years back, and the hotel authorities did not bother to renew it.

The fire broke out at the hotel on Tuesday night.

State’s Fire Minister Sujit Bose admitted that the fire alarm installed at the hotel was not functional.

In a significant development, six Maoists, including a female cadre, surrendered in Dantewada on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, as part of the on-going "Lon Varratu" (Come Back Home) campaign.

Among them, three carried a combined bounty of Rs 4 lakh on their heads. The surrendered individuals identified as Kadti Deva (34), Ms. Lakkhe Kuhram (30), Mithlesh alias Mudda Oyam (25), Pagnu Veko (37), Masram Ram (27), and Bhimsen Oyam (30), were active members of different area committees of Maoist groups.

Kadti Deva, the Gompad RPC Militia Chief, carried a reward of Rs 2 lakh, while Lakkhe Kuhram, a member of the Bhairamgarh Area Committee Party, and Mithlesh alias Mudda Oyam, a Farsegarh LOS member, had bounties of Rs 1 lakh each.

These individuals were involved in activities such as road digging and disseminating Naxal propaganda through banners and posters.

Punjab Police’s Amritsar Commissionerate has thwarted a potential grenade attack on a police establishments with the arrest of five members of a Pakistan ISI-backed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror module linked to foreign-based gangster Jiwan Fauji, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Wednesday.

Those arrested have been identified as Naresh Kumar alias Babbu, Abhinav Bhagat alias Abhi, Ajay Kumar alias Ajju, and Sunny Kumar, all residents of Haripura in Amritsar and a 17-year-old juvenile.

Police teams have also recovered a hand grenade and a country-made .32 pistol along with five cartridges.

Exide Industries on Wednesday reported an 11 per cent decline in its net profit for the March quarter (Q4 FY25), with the figure standing at Rs 254.60 crore compared to Rs 283.75 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

The fall in profit came despite a modest 4 per cent increase in revenue from operations, which rose to Rs 4,159.42 crore from Rs 4,009.39 crore in the year-ago period, according to the company's exchange filing.

The company said its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter came in at Rs 467 crore, lower than Rs 516 crore reported in the same quarter of the previous financial year.

The EBITDA margin slipped to 11.2 per cent due to rising raw material costs, particularly antimony, which significantly impacted margins over the past six months.

For the full financial year ending March 2025, Exide reported a 3 per cent increase in profit after tax to Rs 1,077 crore.

Slamming BJP for conspiring to divest Punjab of its waters by misusing its power in Haryana and center, the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday categorically said that the state has no single drop of water to share with any other state.

In a letter to his Haryana counterpart, the Chief Minister said that he had received the letter of Naib Singh Saini through media only and it is unfortunate that a person of his stature is misleading the people by saying that he has assured water to Haryana. He said that this is nothing more than a bundle of lies as this promise was never made adding that this doesn’t suit a person sitting on a constitutional post. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the Chief Minister of Haryana did call him but he never gave any assurance regarding water to Saini adding that he can give such a promise when Punjab has no drop of spare water to share with any other state.

In a step aimed at aligning technical education with industry demands by focussing on skill-based experiential learning, Punjab’s Technical Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains on Wednesday announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering (Industry Integrated) program.

Bains told the media here that a transformative Memorandum of Understanding had been signed between Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University (MRSPTU) in Bathinda and Victura Technologies Private Limited (VTPL) of Faridabad.

It is a first-of-its-kind program across the country, under which from the very first semester students will be part of the industry, and the industry campus would be considered a deemed campus.

The pact was signed by MRSPTU Registrar Gurinder Pal Singh Brar and Victura Managing Director Hardeep Singh Banga.

Sobo Mumbai Falcons have roped in legendary cricketer Kapil Dev as the official brand ambassador of the franchise ahead of the highly anticipated third edition of the T20 Mumbai League.

Widely regarded as one of India’s greatest cricketing icons and the captain who led the nation to its first World Cup triumph in 1983, Kapil Dev brings unmatched prestige and inspiration to Sobo Mumbai Falcons.

"This strategic partnership signals the team’s strong commitment to excellence, legacy, and the deep-rooted cricketing spirit of Mumbai," the Sobo Mumbai Falcons informed in a release on Wednesday.

"His legendary leadership will be instrumental in guiding the team through its debut season, setting new benchmarks of excellence and inspiring both players and fans alike," the franchise said.

Eighth-placed Rajasthan Royals need wins in their remaining four matches to have a slim chance at entering the playoffs stage in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Their first stop in the quest to qualify for the top four comes at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium against the most in-form team of the season, Mumbai Indians, on Thursday.

Rajasthan’s season turned sour when they failed to chase down totals in three consecutive games against the Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Delhi Capitals (losing in the super over), despite having had the advantage at some point of the game in all encounters.

However, in their last encounter against the Gujarat Titans, the 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi stole the show by scoring the fastest century by an Indian batter in the tournament. He, alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, stitched a 166-run stand as they rushed to the target of 210 and completed the chase in 15.5 overs, the fastest-ever 200+ run chase in tournament history.

Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, continued their dream run as they climbed from the bottom of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 table, after having won only one game in their opening five outings, to now comfortably placed second, having registered five wins on the trot.

Senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Member Parliament Malvinder Singh Kang hit back at BJP leader and Union Minister Ravneet Bittu over the issue of water. Kang questioned Bittu's stance, asking whether he supports Punjab or Haryana, and if he supports Punjab, why he is so concerned about providing water to Haryana.

Kang further questioned why Bittu was upset when Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann spoke about Punjab's right over its water. He suggested that instead of targeting Punjab, Bittu should advise Haryana’s Chief Minister to use their water resources more efficiently, as Haryana has already received the water it is entitled to.

Kang pointed out that Punjab itself faces a shortage of water and questioned how it could supply more water to Haryana. He said, "If you are so concerned about the people of Haryana, provide them with drinking water instead of irrigation water. If you wish to give more water, then speak to Prime Minister Modi and arrange for the water that has been blocked from flowing into Pakistan to be redirected to Haryana."