The Manipur Police arrested 11 militants belonging to various banned outfits and recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition during the past 24 hours, officials said here on Friday.

A police official said four militants were arrested from Imphal East district, five from Imphal West district and one each from Bishnupur and Thoubal districts. The arrested extremists belong to proscribed PREPAK, Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), United People’s Party of Kangleipak (UPPK) and Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) -- all are Manipur’s valley-based outfits.

The arrested militants were involved in abduction, forcible collection of money from traders, officials, and contractors, and were also issuing threat notices to people.

Bangladesh has recorded 13 more dengue cases, pushing the total number of vector-borne infections to 1,890 this year, local media reported.

The country registered the fresh infections in the past 24 hours leading up to Thursday morning.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), two cases were reported in Dhaka Division and 11 in Barishal Division.

Dengue has claimed 13 lives in the country this year, while 55 people were under treatment for the vector-borne infection at the hospitals across the nation.

Last year, dengue claimed the lives of 575 people, a report in Dhaka Tribune said.

The Global Indian Pravasi Kabaddi League (GI-PKL) has announced the full schedule of the upcoming event which gets underway from April 18 in Gurugram.

The tournament will commence with men’s matches on the opening day. The first-ever match of GI-PKL will see Tamil Lions take on Punjabi Tigers in the tournament opener. The second fixture of the day will feature Haryanvi Sharks locking horns with Telugu Panthers, followed by a clash between Marathi Vultures and Bhojpuri Leopards in the third match.

The women's matches will get underway on April 19 with Marathi Falcons facing Telugu Cheetahs in the first match. Punjabi Tigress and Bhojpuri Leopardess will face off in the second game while Haryanvi Eagles and Tamil Lioness will lock horns on Day 2.

The league stage will run until April 27, leading to the knockout rounds. The men’s semi-finals are scheduled for April 28, followed by the women’s semifinals on April 29.

Quad members Australia, India, Japan, and the United States on Friday collectively committed over $20 million in humanitarian assistance to support the relief efforts for the earthquake-devastated Myanmar.

With its funding and bilateral efforts, the Quad grouping is facilitating the delivery of relief supplies, deploying emergency medical teams and supporting humanitarian partners working in Myanmar to provide care for those affected by the earthquake.

In a joint statement issued by Quad partners on the Myanmar earthquake response, the governments of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States extended their deepest sympathies and condolences to the peoples of Myanmar and Thailand following the massive earthquake, which caused significant loss of life, injuries, and widespread destruction of infrastructure.

The office market across top seven cities in India offers an estimated Rs 45,000 crore (approximately $5.3 billion) opportunity in retrofitting (improving the existing building design and engineering, integrating new technology, enhancing user experience, and incorporating climate-adaptive features and capabilities) and upgrading existing buildings, according to a report on Friday.

Approximately 62 per cent of India's Grade A office stock across top seven cities, equivalent to 530.8 million square feet (sq ft), requires upgrades – spanning from light to moderate to deep interventions.

The Silicon Valley of India leads in office retrofitting opportunities offering the largest potential among major Indian cities, with 155.9 million sq ft of Grade A stock, requiring an estimated Rs 14,410 crore in upgrade spends.

The HSBC PMI Index for India’s services activity remained buoyant at 58.5 in March, which is well above its long-run average of 54.2 but a tad lower than February’s reading of 59, according to data released on Friday.

Meanwhile, the HSBC India Composite PMI Output Index increased to a 7-month high of 59.5, from 58.8 in February, to record another month of above-trend growth.

The 50.0 mark in the HSBC PMI index represents the crucial level that separates growth from contraction.

“Domestic and international demand remained fairly buoyant in March, despite being sequentially a tick lower than the month before," said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC.

Pranavi Urs was in fine form before the first round of the Joburg Ladies Open was suspended due to a flooded course here at Modderfontein Golf Club.

When play was suspended, eight groups were yet to finish 18 holes and will resume on Friday to complete their rounds. Pranavi, at 5-under through 13 holes, was one of them.

England’s Mimi Rhodes was able to finish 18 holes and continue her dream start in her rookie season, leading with a round of 65 (-8) on the par-73 course.

Pranavi, a former winner at her home tour, Women’s Pro Golf Tour, started with a bogey on the par-5 tenth but then recovered quickly with five birdies on the remaining eight holes on the back nine. She added one more on the second and was 5-under to be T-4 when play was suspended.

Rhodes led at 8-under with Casandra Alexander of South Africa second at 7-under and Singapore’s Shannon Tan (6-under) at third.

Three persons have been arrested for their involvement in a broad daylight robbery at a jewellery shop in the Greater Kailash area of Jammu city in February this year, police said on Friday.

The three arrested persons, including a lawyer, revealed during questioning that they were inspired by a gold heist in Delhi's Samaypur Badli in 2023, the police said.

"The arrested persons include the mastermind, lawyer, Rahul Sharma of Lower Kana, Bishnah. The other two accused were identified as Sunil Sharma, 26 and Tushar Kumar, 22, who carried out the robbery," they said.

"Police have successfully solved the sensational Greater Kailash jewellery shop robbery case, bringing the culprits to justice. Three persons, including a lawyer, have been arrested," SSP Jammu, Joginder Singh told reporters.

Two dreaded criminals were arrested following an encounter with the police on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.

The accused, identified as Manish Yadav and Sonu Yadav of Katihar district in Bihar, were arrested late Thursday night.

Police said the accused persons reportedly belong to a dreaded gang of chain snatchers active in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.

After reviewing the CCTV footage, the police identified the accused and initiated efforts to nab them.

Acting on a tip-off about the duo moving on the Cuttack-Puri Bypass road, police rushed to the spot. The cops came across the duo at Sai Temple Square near Tankapani.

Sailesh Kolanu, the director of actor Nani’s upcoming film, ‘Hit: The Third Case’, has expressed disappointment at a section of the media leaking details of his film which the makers had intended to keep as a surprise for audiences.

Taking to his timeline on X, director Sailesh wrote, ‘For every single moment of excitement that is experienced in the cinemas by our audience, there is a story of a huge team working relentlessly for days and nights together, slogging beyond their physical capabilities. All for that moment of impact that we want to create in the auditorium. We take pride in that.”

The director, in his post, then went on to express his thoughts on the state of the media today.