Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagde and Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma on Thursday expressed grief over the Ahmedabad plane crash, which crashed minutes after takeoff.

Rajasthan Governor Bagde said, "The incident is extremely heartbreaking. I pray for peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families in this hour of grief. I also wish a speedy recovery to the injured."

Chief Minister Sharma also expressed his concern and sorrow via social media, saying: "The news of the Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad is deeply saddening and worrying. I pray for the safety of all passengers and crew members."

Indian shooting sensation Sift Kaur Samra added yet another accolade to her growing list of international achievements, securing a bronze medal in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup (rifle/pistol) here on Thursday.

Competing in a strong international field, the 23-year-old from Faridkot, Punjab, scored 453.1 in the final to finish third, reaffirming her place among the elite rifle shooters in the world.

The gold went to Norway’s Jeanette Hegg Duestad, who shot a sensational 466.9 in the final, while Switzerland’s Emely Jaeggi won silver with 464.8.

Interestingly, Jaeggi, who initially placed ninth in the qualification round with a score of 590, only made it to the final after two shooters above her were declared ineligible for medals due to their “ranking points only” (RPO) status.

The softening of CPI inflation would provide a substantial boost to households and businesses, industry chamber PHDCCI said on Thursday.

The retail inflation for May has softened to 2.82 per cent, marking a notable reduction of 34 basis points compared to April (3.16 per cent).

“This is the lowest year-on-year inflation recorded since February 2019 and gives further boost to consumer and industry sentiments,” said Hemant Jain, President of PHDCCI.

The year-on-year inflation rate, based on the All-India Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), for the month of May compared to May 2024 is 0.99 per cent (provisional), which is the lowest since October 2021.

The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane Flight AI-171 that met with a devastating fate on Thursday, just minutes after take-off from the city airport, was steered by highly experienced and seasoned pilots, both of whom had flying experience of running into thousands of hours.

The wide-body aircraft was operated by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal with about 8,200 hours of flying experience while his co-pilot was First Officer Clive Kundar, having logged a whopping 1,100 flying hours.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the passenger plane crashed immediately after take-off from Runway 23 of Ahmedabad.

An Air India flight AI-171 travelling from Ahmedabad to London's Gatwick Airport crashed just minutes after takeoff on Thursday, prompting the closure of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport for all operations.

The plan crashed into a residential hostel for intern doctors shortly after takeoff, igniting a massive blaze and leaving a trail of destruction.

More than eight people are suspected dead, with dozens more injured or missing.

According to preliminary reports, the aircraft's wing clipped the third, fourth and fifth floors of the multi-storey hostel building near Meghani Nagar.

Amidst the unfortunate incident of Air India Flight AI171 crashing shortly after taking off, actor Salman Khan decided to cancel a work event.

Salman, who is the new face of the Indian Supercross Racing League (ISRL), was supposed to attend a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday, along with ISRL's co-founders, Veer Patel and Ishan Lokhande.

However, as the event commenced, at the same time, the horrific news of the plane crash surfaced. Showing their support for the families of victims of the plane crash, the organizers announced that the event has been called off. They said, "As you all know, a tragic incident occurred earlier in the day. It's a sad time for everybody. ISRL and Mr Salman Khan stand by united with the nation in these tough times.

Singer-songwriter Justin Bieber has been keeping his fans on the edge with his social media post. The actor recently reflected on life's "secrets" in his most recent social media posts.

On Wednesday (Pacific Standard Time), the 31-year-old singer posted a smiling black-and-white selfie to Instagram and discussed the "secret" to life in the snap's caption, reports ‘People’ magazine.

Alongside The Little Dipper's track Forever, the Baby singer wrote, "The secret in life is forgiveness”. The star also shared an Instagram carousel featuring six blurry selfies, including kissy faces, topless shots, and blurry images.

As per ‘People’, his Wednesday selfie spree marked his seventh in-feed Instagram post of the day, one of which showed a glimpse of him and his son, Jack Blues, 9 months, whom he welcomed with wife Hailey in August 2024. This Instagram comment comes amid a series of cryptic social media posts shared by Bieber and growing concerns for him.

India's inflation rate based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined to 2.82 per cent in May this year compared to the same month of the previous year. This is the lowest level of retail inflation since February 2019, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Statistics on Thursday.

Food Inflation declined to 0.99 per cent during May, which is the lowest since October 2021. This is the seventh month in a row that food inflation has registered a decline as the agricultural output has been on the rise.

The significant decline in inflation during the month is mainly attributed to the decline in inflation of pulses, vegetables, fruits, cereals, household goods & services, sugar, and eggs, according to the official statement.

At least 169 Indians and 53 British nationals were travelling in Air India’s flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick which crashed soon after take-off, an airline official said on Thursday.

The flight, which departed from Ahmedabad at 1.38 p.m. carrying 242 passengers and crew members, also had seven Portuguese nationals and a Canadian national on board.

The plane had 10 cabin crew, and two pilots - Capt. Sumeet Sabharwal, a long-time Air India pilot with over 8,200 flying hours, and First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 hours.

The Indian stock markets witnessed a sharp fall on Thursday after a volatile trading session, as weak global cues and rising tensions between the US and Iran weighed on investor sentiment.

The Sensex dropped by 823.16 points, or 1 per cent, to close at 81,691.98 after slipping to an intra-day low of 81,523.16.

The Nifty fell below the psychological 25,000 mark and ended at 24,888.20, down by 253.20 points or 1.01 per cent.

Among the 30 Sensex stocks, Tata Motors, Titan, Power Grid, Tata Steel, L&T and Mahindra & Mahindra were the top losers, each falling over 2 per cent.