With the screening of 5.72 crore people, India is stepping closer to a sickle cell-free future, said the Union Ministry of Health on Thursday on Sickle Cell Day.

World Sickle Cell Day is observed on June 19 to raise awareness about sickle cell disease (SCD), a genetic blood disorder.

Sickle Cell Disease is a chronic, single-gene disorder that causes a debilitating systemic syndrome characterised by chronic anaemia, acute painful episodes, organ infarction, and chronic organ damage, significantly reducing life expectancy.

The genetic blood disorder affects the entire life of the patient, as it leads to various severe health complications.

"This World Sickle Cell Day, India is stepping closer to a sickle cell-free future!" the Ministry said in a post on the social media platform X.

The total number of e-services provided across states and UTs in the country have touched the of 21,062 mark, with the majority of these services (7,065) falling under the Local Governance and Utility Services sector, according to a report released by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) on Thursday.

Another 424 new e-services have been added in April by various states and UTs, with Tripura contributing the highest number of additions across all focus sectors, the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) report states.

A total of 1,599 out of 2,016 mandatory e-services (56 for each of the 36 states/UTs) are now available online across all 36 states and union territories, achieving a saturation rate of over 79 per cent.

There were 16 states and UTs that achieved over 90 per cent saturation, while Maharashtra and Uttarakhand achieved 100 per cent saturation.

The report highlights Chandigarh’s commitment to strengthening public service delivery through the Right to Services (RTS) framework. It also brings attention to ongoing efforts to unify service delivery and ensure real-time transparency for citizens.

Market fear and nervousness eased on Thursday as the India VIX -- often referred to as the 'fear index' -- dropped below the key level of 14.

This came even as investors remained cautious due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

In the noon trade, the India VIX was down 2.5 per cent at 13.92. This marks a 20 per cent drop in the volatility index over the past one month -- indicating that traders are less worried about sudden market swings.

Experts said with the India VIX trading below the important 15 mark, it signals reduced volatility and reflects improving investor confidence.

This could support the current market uptrend, provided other global and domestic cues remain stable.

North Korea on Thursday condemned Israel's recent air strike on Iran as a "hideous act" of aggression, saying Israel, backed by the United States and the West, is a "cancer-like" entity in threatening peace in the Middle East.

A spokesperson at North Korea's foreign ministry voiced "serious" concerns about Israel's military attack against Iran on Friday, denouncing Israel for raising the danger of a fresh all-out war in the Middle East, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"The present grave situation witnessed by the world clearly proves that Israel, supported and patronised by the US and the West, is a cancer-like entity for the peace in the Middle East and a chief culprit of destroying global peace and security," the official was quoted as saying by the KCNA.

Gujarat’s early monsoon showers have turned catastrophic as incessant rainfall triggered flash floods, building collapses, large-scale evacuations, and loss of life across multiple districts. The state saw heavy rainfall on June 16, 17 and 18, which claimed the lives of seven members of a family in Botad, and over 100 people have been rescued from various flood-affected areas.

In Bhavnagar district, villages across the Bhal region remain submerged, days after intense rainfall battered the area.

Vast tracts of land are still waterlogged. On June 18, the Bhavnagar Fire Department carried out a high-risk rescue operation near Kamlej village, saving 58 people -- including 10 women and nine children --trapped in floodwaters up to two kilometres from the nearest accessible point. Firefighters used a boat engine to navigate the swift waters, pulling stranded residents to safety. The disaster extended to livestock as well.

An Iranian ballistic missile struck Soroka Hospital in Israel's Beersheba, seriously injuring several patients, doctors, and staff as the conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday.

"Soroka Hospital in Beersheba -- where Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Arab Bedouin receive care -- was just hit by an indiscriminate Iranian ballistic missile. Israel will continue to do what must be done to protect all its people, from all walks of life," the Israel Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.

According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Iran fired around 30 ballistic missiles at Israel on Thursday, and one of them struck the hospital in Beersheba.

President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, took to his social media to narrate the horrific scenes in the hospital after the attack on the civilians.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday launched raids at several locations in Ranchi's Bariatu area as well as in Patna and Nalanda in Bihar in connection with the 2024 NEET-UG paper leak case, now being probed for money laundering.

According to sources, the ED is investigating financial transactions involving Sanjeev Mukhiya, a Bihar resident believed to be the mastermind of the leak, along with several of his relatives and associates.

The agency initiated a money laundering probe after the CBI, which is investigating the leak, uncovered evidence of large-scale cash transactions. The ED had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in this regard.

The paper leak first came to light in May 2024, following the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate medical courses.

Four people -- two teenagers and two women -- lost their lives in a tragic road accident near Bhatkheri village under Karnawas police station in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh.

A sports utility vehicle collided with a highway divider, leaving four dead and three others “critically” injured.

All victims were members of the same family from Uttar Pradesh. The mishap occurred in the early hours of Thursday as the family was travelling from Ayodhya to Surat after a pilgrimage.

According to police, the probable cause was the driver dozing off while passing through Rajgarh, causing the SUV bearing registration number GJ05JN7029 to crash into the divider on a culvert.

The injured include the driver, identified as Bholaram, a resident of Bhawanipur in Ayodhya district, Uttar Pradesh.

High-activity micro office markets in India are likely to witness at least 1 million square feet of average annual demand and supply, and collectively drive more than 80 per cent of the office space demand and new supply in the next few years, a report showed on Thursday.

High-activity micro markets across the top seven cities of the country have been witnessing consistently high demand and supply since 2020. Of these, four high-activity micro markets are in Bengaluru, three each in Delhi-NCR and Pune, two each in Chennai and Hyderabad, and one in Mumbai, according to Colliers data.

These micro markets are spread across secondary and peripheral business districts and will continue to drive India office market over the next few years amid city expansions, ongoing infrastructure developments and evolving work models.

Financial cybercrimes are on the rise in Chennai, with residents losing a staggering Rs 218.5 crore to fraudsters between January and May 2025.

According to Greater Chennai Police, the number of cybercrime complaints during this period stood at 4,357 -- nearly 500 more than the 3,888 cases recorded in the same period last year.

Despite the growing number of incidents, city police managed to freeze Rs 48 crore from the stolen amount and successfully returned Rs 10.45 crore to victims after completing the legal process. In comparison, Rs 182 crore was lost during the same period in 2024, of which only Rs 6.52 crore was recovered.

Police said the improved recovery this year was possible due to a July 2024 directive from the Madras High Court, which clarified that registration of a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) alone is sufficient for initiating the reversal of frozen funds.