A surge in the number of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases among school-aged children in Malaysia's northern Borneo state of Sabah has forced the temporary closure of five schools, according to health authorities.

More than 4,300 HFMD cases were reported between January to April, with nearly 83 per cent involving children under the age of seven, the Sabah Health Department said in a recent statement.

Sabah Health Director Maria Suleiman, a health crisis expert, said the closures were a precautionary measure to allow for thorough cleaning and disinfection of affected premises to break the chain of infection, news agency reported.

"All reported cases have been mild and treated as outpatients. There have been no ICU admissions or deaths," she said, adding that parents have been urged to keep symptomatic children at home and maintain good hygiene by regularly disinfecting commonly used items

Tollywood heartthrob Nagarjuna feels there is only one ingredient of the success of a film: Stay rooted to your native language.

Addressing the WAVES summit 2025, Nagarjuna stated there is a reason why Allu Arjun's "Pushpa" franchise earned more in Hindi than Telugu, as the audience in the North was craving to see stars in a tentpole movie set-up, like the Sukumar directorial or Yash's blockbuster "KGF" series.

"Both the 'Pushpa' films made more money in the North than in Telugu. We have seen similar stories in Telugu before, like 'Pushpa', which has larger-than-life heroes. Whereas in the North—in Bihar, UP, and Punjab—they wanted to see their heroes like Pushpa Raj, Yash in 'KGF' or 'Baahubali'. They wanted to see larger-than-life heroes. For Indian people and culture, just living day to day is difficult, and when they want to overcome the stress by watching films, they want to see magic on screen," he said.

The 'Bangarraju' actress added, "That's what the larger-than-life stories are doing, without losing the fundamentals of Indian storytelling. They are not going away from that, which is why they have been successful. Rajamouli shot Baahubali frame to frame, thinking it is a Telugu film. He was very proud of his roots and language, and he shot it like a Telugu film, and people loved it across the world! If you are rooted to your storytelling, it will resonate."

Nagarjuna said that Indian films have their own, unique storytelling DNA, which one must be proud of.

Australia batter Kurtis Patterson has signed up with Surrey for a three-match deal in the ongoing County Championship season. He will be available for Surrey's game against Warwickshire, happening from May 16-19 as well as for their home games against Yorkshire and Essex.

Patterson, who won two Test caps for Australia against Sri Lanka in 2019, comes into the county championship on the back of a successful 2024/25 Sheffield Shield season, where he scored 743 runs for New South Wales at an average of 57.15.

“I’m looking forward to joining Surrey. I’ve always wanted to play county cricket, so I jumped at the chance to represent Surrey when the opportunity presented itself. I’ve heard great things about the environment at Surrey and can’t wait to play in front of the fans at the Kia Oval,” said Patterson in a statement issued by the club on Friday.

Gracing the WAVES Summit, actor Saif Ali Khan expressed how it is a prominent space for broader opportunities that connect creators and collaborators to take entertainment to the next level.

Speaking about the same, Saif stated, “I think it’s a fantastic platform and a wonderful initiative by the Prime Minister, by the IB Ministry (Information and Broadcasting), FICCI, and everybody involved. And I am very excited - the thing is connectivity, to connect not only internationally but even our country. To connect the dots between North and South, and if we connect together, we have so many wonderful stories to tell. We have the best stories in the world to tell. Our film industry is so popular internationally, and we have much love. And I would like to see it go to the next level, and this is a wonderful platform for that.”

Opening about creative collaborations, Saif added, “It’s about collaborations and it’s also about giving opportunities inside our country because there is so much untapped talent and that’s the most exciting thing. I think this is a one-of-its-kind Summit, so we’re all very excited to see what happens. It’s full of potential because there are wonderful stories in animation and video games - anyway, India has been doing that for other people before and winning awards. I think if we did it for ourselves, it would be wonderful.”

Coal production from captive and commercial mines in the country stood at 14.01 million tonnes (MT) in April, while coal dispatch was recorded at 16.81 million tonnes (MT), reflecting a robust start to FY2025–26, the government data showed on Friday.

This marks a notable year-on-year growth compared to April figures from FY 2023-24 and FY 2022-23, underlining the sector’s upward trajectory.

The Coal Ministry attributed this success to continuous policy interventions, close monitoring, and handholding of stakeholders to fast-track operational clearances and enhance production capacity.

One of the key contributors to this achievement is the commencement of operations in newly developed coal blocks.

Kotre Basantpur Pachmo block of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), with a Peak Rated Capacity (PRC) of 5 MT per annum (opencast), started operations on April 15, 2025.

Congress leader Udit Raj on Friday launched a scathing attack on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Mayawati, alleging that she has effectively become the "unofficial spokesperson" of the BJP.

The remarks came after Mayawati accused both the BJP and Congress of politicising the issue of caste-based census. In a series of posts on X, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister alleged that the "anti-Bahujan stance" of both national parties continues to deprive Other Backward Classes (OBCs) of their rightful entitlements.

"The BJP and Congress are now rushing to take credit for the caste census issue, attempting to portray themselves as champions of OBCs. However, their track record reveals a consistent pattern of oppression and exclusion of Bahujan communities," Mayawati said.

A court here on Friday issued notices to Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in the alleged National Herald money laundering case.

The Rouse Avenue Courts asked the Gandhis and others accused to show cause as to why cognisance should not be taken on the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Last week, Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne temporarily declined to issue notice on ED’s prosecution complaint and asked the federal anti-money laundering agency to place the requisite documents on record and remove the defects.

As the prosecution contended that the court can take cognisance of a charge sheet without hearing the accused and, therefore, notices should be issued, the judge had said: "I cannot pass such an order until satisfied."

The rupee continued to strengthen against the US dollar, rising by 40 paise on Friday and breaching the 84-mark. This is the first time in seven months that the rupee has traded below the 84-level against the greenback.

The local currency opened at 84.09 and touched 83.90 during early trade. In the previous session, the rupee had closed at 84.49 against the dollar.

Experts say the rupee’s upward movement is supported by increased foreign investments in Indian debt and equity markets, along with positive updates on trade talks between India and the United States.

“Despite the dollar index remaining firm, the rupee strengthened on expectations that India could emerge as a key alternative to China in US trade flows, boosting confidence in Indian markets,” experts mentioned.

The last time the rupee saw this level was on October 1, 2024, when it had touched 83.82 against the dollar.

Hollywood star Sarah Jessica Parker says she is too busy working to go to the Met Gala this year.

The 60-year-old actress, who has been a regular at the annual New York fashion event over the years and first attended in 1995, told 'Entertainment Tonight': "I have to work...but there's gonna be so much to see and I look forward to seeing what everybody does and how they interpret the theme and the sort of homework they did for the assignment.

The former 'Sex and the City' star still "cares" about the annual event, a fundraising festival held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in Manhattan, and this year, the theme is Superfine, which will celebrate black fashion from the 18th century.

Security and Intelligence Services (SIS) on Friday reported an over 1,814 per cent rise in net loss in the March 2025 quarter (Q4 FY25), with the figure widening to Rs 223.35 crore compared to a net loss of Rs 11.67 crore in the same quarter last fiscal (Q4 FY24).

For the full financial year ended March 2025, SIS posted a 93.80 per cent drop in net profit, which fell to Rs 11.79 crore from Rs 190.04 crore a year earlier.

The company’s earnings per share (EPS) on reported profit after tax (PAT) remained negative as it fell by 1,789 per cent to Rs 15.5 in Q4 as compared to Rs 0.8 in a year-ago period.