India’s opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and K.L. Rahul stamped their authority at Headingley with a record-breaking stand, becoming the most successful Indian openers at the venue in Test cricket in the ongoing first Test of the five-match series on Friday.

The stylish left-right combination put together 91 runs for the first wicket, surpassing the 64-run mark set by legends Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth back in 1986 — a record that stood unchallenged for 39 years.

After England captain Ben Stokes opted to bowl first under overcast skies, Jaiswal and Rahul faced a disciplined new-ball attack led by Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse. The Indian openers started cautiously, showing sound judgment outside off and immense patience.

More than 20 people have died following a collapse Thursday at a coltan mine in Rubaya, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), local sources said Friday.

At least 21 bodies have been recovered so far from the mine, located in the Masisi territory of North Kivu Province, according to the Masisi administrator's office.

Around 100 people have also been rescued during the ongoing operation.

India's foreign exchange reserves shot up by another $2.29 billion to $698.95 billion for the week ended June 13, data released by the RBI on Friday showed.

The country’s forex kitty stood at $696.66 billion in the preceding week ended on June 6, registering an increase $5.17 billion. With a close to $7.5 billion rise over the fortnight, India’s foreign exchange reserves are nearing the all-time high of $704.885 billion that was recorded at September-end last year.

Mata Gujri College, a premier educational institution in North India, is witnessing a surge in admissions for the academic year 2025-26. The college, managed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar, offers various scholarships to support students. Jagdeep Singh Cheema, Secretary of the College Governing Body, expressed his delight and informed that several scholarships are available to students, including the Amritdhari Scholarship by SGPC, Sarbat da Bhalla Scholarship for economically weaker and meritorious students, and the Poor Aid Scholarship by the college staff. Additionally, the Satnam Sarv Kalyan Trust Scholarship is available for needy and meritorious Gursikh students pursuing professional courses, and the Educate Punjab Project for both Sikh and non-Sikh students. Cheema further mentioned that apart from these, post-matric scholarships are also provided to needy students. Alumni, social workers, and faculty members offer various scholarships, and students can also avail of easy installment plans for fee payments. Dr. Bikramjit Singh, Vice Principal and Admission Coordinator, informed that the college's admission cell is open every Saturday and on gazetted holidays to assist students. Dr. Harjeet Singh, Controller of Examinations, and Dr. Jagdish Singh were also present on the occasion. The college provides top-notch sports facilities, including a sports stadium, separate hostels for boys and girls, and a functional placement cell to support students.

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against Zimbabwe due to a left hamstring strain suffered during the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at Lord's last week.

Bavuma, who will undergo further scans to determine the extent of the injury, battled the pain during the second innings and played a pivotal knock of 66 along with Aiden Markram's 136 which guided them to the WTC title.

Monitoring fungal spores in the outdoor air can predict surges in flu and Covid-19 infections, according to a study.

Researchers from Lynn University in Florida, US, discovered that airborne concentrations of fungal spores -- but not pollen -- were strongly linked to increases in flu and Covid-19 cases.

When airborne concentrations of fungal spores rose, the scientists often saw a jump in infections within a few days.

The study models were able to predict flu and Covid-19 surges with high accuracy, particularly in the fall season. However, pollen didn’t show the same connection or prediction.

“The findings from our study suggest that monitoring airborne fungal spore levels could help predict short-term outbreaks (spikes) of flu and Covid-19, giving public health systems an early warning signal,” said Felix E. Rivera-Mariani, Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Lynn.

After back-to-back second-place finishes this season, Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will look to go one better when he takes the field in the Paris Diamond League at the Stade Sebastien Charlety in the early hours of Saturday (1:12 AM IST).

This will be Chopra’s first appearance at the Paris Diamond League since 2017 when he finished fifth with a throw of 84.67m as a junior world champion. Eight years later, the stakes are higher, and the field significantly stronger. The Paris meet is the eighth stop on the 2025 Diamond League circuit, which will conclude with the two-day final in Zurich this August.

Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Friday extended a formal invitation to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu to grace the inaugural ceremony of the annual conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, India region Zone II, being held from June 30 and July 1 in Dharamsala, the state’s winter capital in Kangra district.

Speaker Pathania informed that the conference will see participation from delegates representing Zone II, which includes Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Among the attendees will be the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Speakers and Deputy Speakers of state Legislative Assemblies, Leaders of the Opposition, Chief Whips, and MLAs from member states.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday expressed surprise at Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s statement claiming his state had complete water rights over the Indus Water system and urged the Centre to undo the historic injustice done with Punjab by the then Indira Gandhi government while deciding distribution of water of the Indus Water Basin.

In a statement released here, former Minister and senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said it was a historical fact that the then Indira Gandhi government had done great injustice to Punjab while giving away a huge share of river waters to the non-riparian state of Rajasthan. “Every time, it is Punjab which suffers the most. River waters were snatched from Punjab,” he said.