India's Ambassador to Japan, Sibi George on Friday called on Japanese Defence Minister General Nakatani, discussing initiatives to enhance India-Japan defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

India-Japan defence and security partnership forms an integral pillar of bilateral ties. India-Japan defense exchanges have gained strength in the recent years due to growing convergence on strategic matters, and their significance is growing in the common outlook on issues of peace, security, and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

The iconic Sasur and Damad jodi of Bollywood- Suniel Shetty, and KL Rahul have come together to support a new electric mobility startup. Joining them, is Suniel's actor son, Ahan Shetty.

In the video doing rounds on social media, all three were seen enjoying a fun electric bike ride.

Former England fast-bowler Stuart Broad believes India still are in control of proceedings in the second Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, despite the rollicking 165-run sixth wicket stand between Jamie Smith and Harry Brook taking the hosts to 249/5 in 47 overs.

At Edgbaston on Friday, Smith hammered a sensational 80-ball century, his second century in the format, and was unbeaten on 102 while Brook remained 91 not out as England staged a remarkable recovery from 84/5 by hitting all Indian bowlers all around the park.

The ED arrested a foreign currency businessman and one of the masterminds in a Chinese App investment fraud case involving over Rs 903 crore and seized incriminating documents during searches at his five premises in Delhi, an official said on Friday.

Rohit Vij, the mastermind in the conversion of proceeds of crime into forex, was arrested on June 30 for his links to a fake investment app named ‘LOXAM’, claiming to be related to a reputed French MNC Group of the same name.

The business entities and associates of Vij were searched under the provisions of PMLA, 2002, said an official.

The bodies of a young couple were found hanging from a tree in a forested area of Pirtand block in Jharkhand’s Giridih district on Friday, police officials said.

The discovery has sparked tension and speculation in the area.

The deceased have been identified as Imamul Hansda, a resident of Panchrukhi village under Mufassil police station limits, and Rani Kumari, a resident of Kulkhi village.

Zerodha co-founder and CEO Nithin Kamath on Friday praised the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for taking strong action against US-based trading giant Jane Street, saying that India’s robust regulatory framework does not allow market practices that are common in the West.

In a post on social media platform X, Kamath said: "None of these practices would be allowed in India, thanks to our regulators", referring to US market structures like dark pools and payment for order flow -- mechanisms often criticised for favouring hedge funds at the expense of retail investors.

In a move that could shape the future of India’s export-driven IoT and machine-to-machine (M2M) sector, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday released a consultation paper on regulating the sale of foreign telecom service providers’ SIM and eSIM cards for such devices meant solely for exports.

IoT devices are everyday objects that have sensors, software, and other technology inside them. This helps them connect to the internet and talk to other devices.

India’s foreign exchange reserves once again crossed the $700 billion mark, reaching $702.78 billion for the week ending June 27, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday.

This marks a significant rise of $4.8 billion from the previous week, when reserves stood at $697.93 billion.

This is the first time in nine months that India’s forex reserves have gone above the $700 billion level. The reserves had last touched an all-time high of $704.88 billion in end-September 2024.

The latest increase was mainly due to a sharp rise in foreign currency assets, which went up by $5.75 billion to reach $594.82 billion.

Underlining that India is the fourth-largest economy in the world, Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday said that the MSMEs contribute 30.1 per cent to the country's GDP, 35.4 per cent to manufacturing and 45.73 per cent to exports, adding that along with the agriculture sector, MSMEs will play a significant role in India becoming the third-largest economy in the world by 2029.

Jitan Ram Manjhi said that the MSME sector is playing an important role in providing employment to entrepreneurs who invest less than big industries and in making them entrepreneurs. It is also working to provide training to new entrepreneurs from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in rural and urban areas and provide them with loans by providing bank guarantees.

An explosion ripped through a gas station in eastern Rome on Friday morning, injuring more than 40 people, local media reported.

According to local authorities, the explosion took place at a gas station on Via Gordiani in the Prenestino district of eastern Rome. While none of the injured are in critical condition, five people were hospitalised for treatment. Some of the casualties included rescue workers responding to the scene.

Preliminary findings from the local fire department suggest the explosion may have been triggered by a pump detaching from a tanker truck. Authorities are conducting further investigations.