Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has taken a step towards building a “Yoga Yukt, Nasha Mukt Haryana” by embracing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message of “Yoga for One Earth, One Health” on the occasion of the 11th International Yoga Day.

As a result of this initiative, more than 20 lakh people across the state will participate in yoga sessions on June 21.

An official spokesperson said yoga programmes will be organised in all 22 districts and 121 blocks of the state on June 21. More than 20 lakh citizens will come together to practice yoga. So far, over 12.10 lakh people have registered themselves through the portal to participate.

As part of the “Harit Yoga” campaign to promote environmental awareness, more than 70,000 saplings have already been planted. The state-level main event will be held at the Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra, where Chief Minister Saini and other dignitaries will participate in yoga exercises along with thousands of practitioners, in the presence of yoga guru Swami Ramdev.

A bomb threat to the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad on Wednesday sent security agencies into a tizzy, but after a thorough check, it was declared a hoax.

The police went on high alert after airport authorities received an email about the bomb threat.

Police said some unknown persons sent an email to the Begumpet airport informing about a bomb planted at the airport premises. The airport’s chief security officer immediately alerted the Hyderabad police.

Anti-sabotage teams and bomb disposal squads rushed to the airport located in the heart of the city and began a thorough search of the premises and its surroundings.

However, the police teams found no suspicious objects after extensive checks. The authorities declared it a hoax. Police said efforts were on to identify the persons who sent the email.

At least five people were killed and 15 others were injured in separate road accidents across Jharkhand on Wednesday, amid ongoing monsoon rains, officials said.

In Dhanbad district, two youths died after their motorcycle collided with a truck near the Kamalpur forest in the Tundi police station area around noon.

According to preliminary information, the bike skidded on the rain-soaked road, causing the rider to lose control before being hit by an oncoming truck.

Tundi SHO Umashankar and his team rushed to the spot and took the victims to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Their identities are yet to be ascertained.

The bodies have been sent to Dhanbad Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination, the police added.

With India set to begin the daunting challenge of attempting to emerge victorious on English soil for the first time since 2007, the Shubman Gill-led side will be taking on hosts England in the first Test at the Headingley Cricket Ground.

As per Accuweather, the opening day of the Test on Friday will be the hottest of the five days, with the temperature expected to rise to 30 degrees Celsius. Although the temperature will remain pretty much the same on Saturday, strong winds will be coming in from the South direction at a speed of 17 kilometres per hour.

In light of the heavy rainfall across parts of Gujarat, particularly in Saurashtra and South Gujarat, Water Resources Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya visited the Flood Control Cell at the State Water Data Centre in Sector-8, Gandhinagar. The visit was aimed at assessing preparedness for the ongoing monsoon and issue directives to prevent rain-related damage.

During the review meeting with senior officials, Minister Bavaliya emphasised the need for proactive coordination between departments to ensure timely alerts when water levels in local reservoirs rise due to upstream flow or local rainfall.

“When heavy rains occur, we must issue timely warnings — such as high alert, alert, or caution — and ensure they reach District Collectors and administrative units for local-level action. This is crucial to prevent loss of life and property,” he said.

The minister also reviewed updates via hotline calls with local authorities in Botad, Bhavnagar, and Rajkot districts, seeking real-time information on rainfall patterns and water levels in reservoirs. He provided specific instructions based on the local data received.

The Indian equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, ended the day on the lower side, as buying was seen in auto and private bank stocks. The trading session remained volatile as rising tensions between Israel and Iran kept investors on edge.

The Sensex, after slipping to an intra-day low of 81,237, settled at 81,444.66 -- down by 138.64 points, or 0.17 per cent. Similarly, the Nifty closed at 24,812.05, losing 41.35 points, or 0.17 per cent.

"With the supportive base of the domestic macros, the long-term outlook remains intact and investors are likely to be focused on high-quality large-cap stocks until greater clarity emerges," said Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments Limited.

Investors will keep an eye on the US Fed policy later today, and the prospect of higher inflation due to the tariff threat may lead the FOMC to keep the rates unchanged, he added.

Within the Sensex pack, top losers included TCS, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India, Bajaj Finserv, and NTPC -- all declining up to 1.79 per cent.

After reports surfaced that Standard Chartered is facing RBI regulatory scrutiny in India over alleged lapses in derivatives sales, the lender on Wednesday said the Reserve Bank conducts annual inspections of banks, and this is just part of a routine examination.

According to reports, the central bank raised concerns following alleged sales by the lender to small and medium-sized enterprises of target redemption forwards, "a product that can cause significant losses".

The RBI also raised issues regarding the bank’s maintenance of reserves and the accounting treatment of forward rate agreement trades in previous fiscals.

A Standard Chartered spokesperson told that the Reserve Bank conducts an annual inspection of banks.

Air pollution has emerged as the leading health hazard for death and disability in Nepal, with the Kathmandu Valley and the Terai region emerging as air pollution hotspots of the country, according to a new World Bank Report.

The report stated that air pollution reduced life expectancy by 3.4 years for the average Nepali and caused approximately 26,000 premature deaths annually.

The report titled 'Towards Clean Air in Nepal: Benefits, Pollution Sources, and Solutions,' released on Tuesday, served as a foundational assessment of air pollution in the country and the airshed of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Himalayan Foothills.

India’s fiscal dynamics have improved at the aggregate level post-pandemic, with a most notable shift in the quality of spending, which is reflected in the higher capital expenditure by the government over the last five years, according to a Morgan Stanley report.

The report highlights that the improving fiscal dynamics bode well for the growth mix and inflation management of the Indian economy.

The faster pace of consolidation in revenue deficit is reflective of an improved spending mix, not only by the Centre but also by the states. Indeed, a key change post-pandemic has been the shift towards higher capex by the centre, with Central government capex doubling to 3.2 per cent of GDP in FY2025 from 1.6 per cent of GDP in FY2020 (pre-pandemic), the report further states.

Similarly, states' capex is tracking at 2.3 per cent of GDP in F2025 from 1.9 per cent of GDP pre-pandemic.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has raised serious concerns over "ongoing infringements" on the rights of people living in Tibet and called to align legislation and policies with international human rights law.

Addressing the 59th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Commissioner (OHCHR) detailed a grave assessment of the current global landscape.

He asserted that he has continued to engage directly with China on a wide range of issues.

Raising concerns about the human rights violations in China, Turk highlighted the lack of progress on much-needed legal reform to ensure compliance with international human rights law.

"In Tibet, there are ongoing infringements on cultural and other rights. I call for the release of all individuals detained for exercising their rights and to align legislation and policies with international human rights law," the UN human rights chief stated.