The death toll in the Bikaner gas cylinder blast has risen to eight after five more bodies were recovered from the rubble on Thursday.

The explosion, which occurred on Wednesday at Madan Market, was caused by a gas cylinder.

According to officials and locals, at the market, known for its jewellery-making shops, shopkeepers reportedly stored large LPG cylinders and refilled smaller ones from them - a dangerous practice that is believed to have led to the blast.

A shopkeeper said the explosion was loud like an air strike. Many shops were severely damaged, and gold worth lakhs of rupees remains buried under the debris.

Jeweller Vikas Soni, who narrowly escaped the blast, said he was running late to meet a client - a delay that ultimately saved his life.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting with the Secretaries of various Ministries and Departments of the Government of India to review national preparedness and inter-ministerial coordination in light of recent developments concerning national security.

According to a government media release, PM Modi stressed the need for seamless coordination among ministries and agencies to uphold operational continuity and institutional resilience.

The PM reviewed the planning and preparation by ministries to deal with the current situation.

The Secretaries have been directed to undertake a comprehensive review of their respective ministries’ operations and ensure foolproof functioning of essential systems, with special focus on readiness, emergency response, and internal communication protocols.

The Centre for Joint Warfare Studies, in collaboration with Aerospace Services India (ASI) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), hosted the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile India Eco-System Summit 2.0 at the Manekshaw Centre here, aimed at enhancing India’s air and missile defence capabilities, according to an official statement issued on Thursday.

The inaugural session focussed on the growing synergy between Indian and Israeli Defence sectors.

The day-long summit brought together key stakeholders from India’s Defence eco-system, highlighting collaborative achievements and future possibilities in enhancing India’s air and missile defence capabilities under the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Make-in-India' initiatives.

The summit emphasised the achievements of ASI-IAI’s wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, which plays a critical role in providing technical representation, life-cycle support, and local manufacturing for the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) system and its associated subsystems such as the BARAK 8 missile and Air Defence Fire Control Radar.

Media company DB Corp Limited on Thursday reported a steep 57.3 per cent decline in net profit for the fourth quarter (Q4) of FY25, as a fall in revenue and a rise in expenses weighed heavily on its financial performance.

The company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 52.3 crore in Q4, down from Rs 123 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, according to its stock exchange filings.

The sharp drop came as revenue slipped 11.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 548 crore in Q4 from Rs 617 crore in a year-ago period.

Adding to the pressure, total expenses during the quarter rose to Rs 495.99 crore from Rs 480.24 crore in the year-ago period.

This erosion in operating leverage affected margins, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) falling 52 per cent to Rs 82.6 crore from Rs 172 crore.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday publicly denied media reports suggesting that it has approached the Government for intervention in its ongoing stand-off with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) over its delayed Initial Public Offering (IPO).

In a post on social media platform X, the exchange categorically refuted claims that it had reached out to the government for assistance.

"The story is denied by NSE," the exchange stated in its clarification, adding that there has been "no correspondence with the Government of India in the last 30 months relating to its IPO."

This statement comes in response to a news report citing unnamed sources who claimed that NSE had recently written to the Ministry of Finance requesting help in resolving regulatory hurdles holding up its long-awaited IPO.

The report alleged that the letter followed the rejection of NSE's latest application to SEBI in March for a 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) required to proceed with the listing.

Russia has suspended combat operations in following the Victory Day ceasefire announced by President Vladimir Putin, which came into effect on Thursday.

Putin announced the 72-hour ceasefire on April 28, in its ongoing 'Special Military Operation' in Ukraine, on account of the Victory Day celebrations.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia's position on the May ceasefire is well-known and there have been no new instructions on the matter.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops staged a large-scale drone attack on Russian cities in the early hours of Wednesday. However, the Russian air defence forces repelled the attack, state-run news agency reported.

According to Moscow city's mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, nine drones were shot down near Moscow.

Eating a diet rich in vegetables, legumes, and whole grains in childhood can delay the onset of menstruation in girls, according to a new study.

The findings, published in the journal Human Reproduction remained unaltered by the girls’ body mass index (BMI) or height, both of which have been associated with the earlier onset of periods.

The study has implications for health in later life as it is well known that women who started their periods at an early age may be at higher risk for diabetes, obesity, breast cancer, and diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

“I think our findings highlight the need for all children and adolescents to have access to healthy meal options and the importance of school-based breakfasts and lunches being based on evidence-based guidelines,” said Holly Harris, Associate Professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, US.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the all-party meeting held in the capital on Thursday, a day after India conducted cross-border strikes in Pakistan as well as PoK and briefed the Opposition on ‘Operation Sindoor’, its aftermath and also about the government’s intentions behind bombing the terror bases and its preparations for any eventuality.

The all-party meeting, called by the Centre, was to brief the Opposition leaders about the Army’s one of the most expansive operations against terror camps and infrastructure, across the border.

Top leaders of all parties, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and others, attended the meeting.

As Rajnath Singh briefed the Opposition, all parties lauded the Army’s action and extended support to the government in its endeavour to crush terrorism emanating from foreign soil.

Amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan, authorities on Thursday suspended the ‘Gandola’ cable car service in Gulmarg, and also declared the resort out of bounds for tourists because of its proximity to the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed that 13 people have been killed and 59 injured in the Pakistani mortar shelling across the LoC during the last two days.

The MEA statement said all the 13 people killed in Pakistan shelling were killed in Poonch district, while 44 out of 59 injured people also belong to Poonch district.

Uri sector in Baramulla district and Karnah sector in Kupwara district of the Valley, in addition to Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu division, have been the worst affected by Pakistani mortar shelling on the civilian population during the last two days.

Nearly one out of five women and one out of seven men aged 20, and older globally experienced sexual violence by age 15 or even younger, according to a study published in the journal The Lancet on Thursday.

The research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, US, showed that 67 per cent of females and 72 per cent of males reported being first sexually abused during childhood, before the age of 18.

Almost 42 per cent of females and approximately 48 per cent of males said their first sexual violence incident occurred before the age of 16. Alarmingly, 8 per cent of female survivors and 14 per cent of male survivors reported being first exposed to sexual violence before 12.

“Sexual violence against children is a widespread human rights and public health issue, and the world is clearly failing to end it,” said senior author Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou, Professor at IHME.