The Indian stock markets bounced back on Friday after three straight sessions of losses, as investors took comfort from easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The US stated that it is still open to negotiations with Iran and will take a call on supporting Israel within two weeks. This statement helped calm investor nerves and sparked a broad-based rally across the markets.

After a strong start, both the Sensex and Nifty ended the day with solid gains. The Sensex closed at 82,408.17, up by 1,046 points or 1.29 per cent.

During the day, it had touched an intra-day high of 82,488.21. The Nifty also gained 319.95 points or 1.29 per cent to close at 25,112.4.

"The national equity indices surged as Middle East tension moderated with risk of immediate military actions reduced as US dialogue with Iran is expected to take place," said Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments Limited.

Mohamed Salah, Alexis Mac Allister, Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Bruno Fernandes and Alexander Isak have been nominated by their peers for the PFA Player of the Year honour.

The PFA players' awards are one of the most prestigious awards in the country, as the winners are voted by those playing in the league.

Salah produced one of the greatest individual seasons in Premier League history. He registered a record-equalling 47 goal involvements – 29 goals and 18 assists, totals that earned him the Golden Boot and Playmaker accolades – while starting all 38 of the champions’ matches.

Salah was duly recognised with the Premier League Player of the Season and Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year prizes and could now become the first man to be named PFA Players’ Player of the Year for a third time after his successes in 2018 and 2022.

Mac Allister, meanwhile, played in 35 of 38 Premier League games and was a model of consistent excellence as the Reds won the title by a margin of 10 points. The Argentina midfielder was named the division’s Player of the Month for April and ended the top-flight campaign having recorded five goals and five assists.

South Korea's space agency said on Friday it plans to develop a reusable space launch vehicle by 2035 in a bid to keep pace with the rapidly shifting landscape of the global space industry.

The Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) has been working to modify its 2.1 trillion-won (US$1.53 billion) project for a next-generation rocket, originally designed as a single-use launch vehicle, into a reusable system, with the goal of acquiring the necessary technology within the next decade, reports news agency.

The agency stressed that early development of reusable launch vehicles is crucial amid rapid changes in the global space transportation market, driven by the success of SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Starship.

Yoga is a journey towards inner peace and harmony than just physical exercise, said Saima Wazed, Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia on Friday, ahead of the International Day of Yoga (IDY).

The International Day of Yoga is marked annually on June 21. The theme this year is “Yoga for One Earth, One Health".

"Yoga is more than just physical exercise. It is a journey towards inner peace and harmony, and teaches us to listen to our bodies and to live mindfully," Wazed said.

The WHO Regional Director stated that practicing yoga can help people become more aware of the surroundings, and nature.

"In a world facing environmental challenges, yoga offers a path to sustainability by encouraging us to live simply, consume mindfully, and respect the natural world," Wazed noted.

"In embracing yoga, we can reduce our ecological footprint and contribute to a healthier planet," she added.

India Inc. must take up infrastructure building in cities in partnership with municipal corporations as the country is expected to add 70 million new urban residents in the next two decades by 2045, a senior official said on Friday.

Addressing a CII conference here, D Thara, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, said that there is a disconnect between India’s economic ambitions and the capacities of its urban local bodies, so the private sector needs to be proactively engaged in the urban development of the country.

“India is a rich nation with poor municipalities,” she remarked.

She was delivering the keynote address at a CII conference on ‘Exploring Urban Dynamics: Outlook 2030’.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Friday that his government has accepted the cabinet subcommittee (CSC) report on reservations, which has been sent to the law department for examination and comments.

The cabinet met on Wednesday to discuss the CSC report on reservations. The ruling National Conference (NC) government had formed a CSC comprising five of its ministers to make recommendations on ‘rationalisation of reservations for government jobs’, in order to make the reservations open and merit-friendly.

As per the existing reservations for STs, SCs, OBCs, residents of backward areas (RBAs), residents of the Line of Control (LoC), physically challenged candidates and horizontal reservations, open merit candidates have to compete for only 30 per cent of the advertised government jobs and seats in various professional courses.

A South Korea's Seoul court said on Friday that it will hold a hearing next week to determine whether to extend the arrest of former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun over his alleged role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law.

The Seoul Central District Court said the hearing will be held at 2:30 pm Monday before deciding whether to issue a new arrest warrant for Kim, who has been in custody since December and standing trial on charges of insurrection in connection with the martial law attempt, news agency reported.

A new warrant was requested by independent counsel Cho Eun-suk earlier this week as the current six-month detention period for Kim is set to expire next Thursday, granting him unconditional release.

As the same charges cannot be used to justify continued detention, Cho said he has indicted Kim on new charges of obstruction of official duties and abetting the destruction of evidence.

A day after a farmer was shot at in Manipur's Bishnupur district, the state government on Friday announced to provide security to the farmers in the vulnerable areas, officials said.

A senior police official said that adequate security would be provided to ensure the safety of farmers in the fields and prevent incidents involving the farmers.

A woman was killed and a farmer shot at in separate incidents in Manipur's Churachandpur and Bishnupur district respectively on Thursday.

The official said that one Ningthoujam Biren Singh, a cultivator from Phubala Awang Maning Leikai, was shot in his left arm by an unknown armed miscreant while working in his paddy field at Phubala Maning in Bishnupur district.

Three thieves were arrested and six stolen mobile phones were recovered along with a dummy pistol and a scooter used in multiple crimes by the Tilak Marg Police in Delhi, an official said on Friday.

The accused have been identified as Arbaz (22) of Sarai Kale Khan, Pankaj Mourya (22) of Jungpura, and Rahul Bagh (26) of Chirag Delhi.

“Six stolen mobile phones, one dummy pistol and a scooter used in the crime were recovered from the accused,” said Delhi Police in a statement.

The official said that the arrested accused had been selling stolen mobile phones on e-commerce platforms using fake Aadhaar cards and forged invoices.

The breakthrough in the case came after a complaint was filed by a Blinkit delivery boy, who reported the theft of his mobile phone, stating that it was stolen while he was delivering an order on Pandara Road.

The Russian Defence Ministry on Friday stated that its air defences shot down 61 Ukrainian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) over several Russian regions overnight.

“On-duty air defences intercepted and destroyed 61 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles between 8 pm and 7 am. Moscow time, 22 over the Oryol Region, 14 over the Kursk Region, seven over the Belgorod Region, five over the Voronezh Region, three over the Volgograd Region, three over the Rostov Region, three over the Tula Region, three over the Bryansk Region and one over the Moscow Region,” read the statement.

The Voronezh Region Governor, Alexander Gusev mentioned on Telegram that the drones had been destroyed over the city of Voronezh and on the region’s border, adding that there were no casualties or damage as per the preliminary reports.

Bryansk Region Governor Alexander Bogomaz stated that there were no casualties or damage in the region. “Response teams are working on the ground,” Bogomaz wrote on Telegram.