Tension prevailed in the Maheshtala area of South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, as police crackdown on protesters continued on Thursday. So far, 18 have been arrested.

The arrests were made during a joint operation by the West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police, which started on Wednesday night and continued till Thursday morning in connection with the clashes that broke out on Wednesday afternoon.

While 14 were arrested on Wednesday night only, the remaining four were arrested early Thursday morning, a senior official of the state police confirmed.

However, the overall situation in the Maheshtala area continued to be quite tense, with most of the shops remaining closed even on Thursday morning.

The West Bengal government has approached the Supreme Court seeking revision of the earlier order related to the clearing of pending dearness allowance.

State secretariat sources said in the petition at the Apex Court, the state government had also sought certain clarifications on certain points of the order that was delivered last month.

However, the sources added, while moving the petition, the state government is carrying out the preparatory process for paying 25 per cent of the pending dearness allowance dues within the stipulated date.

Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday denied any disruption to its operations due to the rare earth magnet crisis, saying that they are monitoring the evolving situation.

Reports have surfaced that the production plans for the automaker’s upcoming electric sport utility vehicle (SUV), the e-Vitara, may be affected due to China’s restriction on exports of rare earth minerals. The e-Vitara is expected to be launched in India before the end of September.

“Regarding the situation on rare earth, as of now, there is no disruption in our operation due to this issue. There is a lot of uncertainty, and the situation is continuously evolving,” a Maruti Suzuki India spokesperson said on the sidelines of the announcement of Bharat NCAP safety ratings of the Dzire compact sedan and the Baleno premium hatchback.

"We are monitoring the situation and pursuing multiple solutions to ensure continuity in our operations. If and when there is any material impact to our business, we will inform all stakeholders in line with regulatory requirements," the spokesperson added.

The United States has reportedly gone on high alert amid growing concerns of a potential Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, local media reported.

The Trump administration is fearing that Israel may act unilaterally without Washington's consent if negotiations between the US and Iran collapse, according to the Washington Post.

President Donald Trump, addressing the situation on Wednesday, stated that US personnel are being moved out of certain Middle Eastern regions, particularly Iran, due to the escalating risk of conflict.

"They (US personnel) are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and we will see what happens... We have given notice to move out," Trump told reporters.

South Korea's antitrust regulator said on Thursday that it has rejected a proposed mileage integration plan submitted by Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines, citing insufficient details and consumer benefit concerns.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said the plan, submitted earlier in the day as part of the carriers' broader merger plan, failed to meet the standards necessary to proceed with a formal review, reports news agency.

"There were shortcomings in the proposed mileage redemption plan compared to what Asiana Airlines previously offered," the FTC said. "In terms of the proposed mileage integration ratio and other explanations, we found the submission insufficient to initiate a full assessment."

The FTC requested Korean Air to immediately revise and supplement the proposal before resubmitting.

Delhi-NCR reeled under an intense heatwave on Thursday as temperatures remained dangerously high, touching 36 degrees Celsius by 10 A.M., with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a 'Red Alert' for the national Capital and surrounding areas.

The IMD warned that the sweltering heat would persist throughout the day, with maximum temperatures expected to hover between 43 and 45 degrees Celsius. A gradual decline in temperature is anticipated from Friday, June 13.

The 'Red Alert', the highest-level warning issued by the IMD, urges residents to take serious precautions such as staying hydrated, avoiding direct Sun exposure, and limiting outdoor movement during peak heat hours.

People across the city shared their struggle with the punishing weather.

A shocking incident has rocked the temple town of Puri, where an 80-year-old senior servitor of the Jagannath Temple, Jagannath Dixit, was allegedly murdered under mysterious circumstances.

The incident took place in the Gudia Sahi area under Puri Town Police limits on Wednesday afternoon.

The deceased, a respected servitor from Mahasuar Sahi, had reportedly visited the Jagannath Temple on Wednesday for his daily religious duties.

The deceased's nephew, Bhimsen Dixit, stated, “My uncle had gone to the temple to offer his daily service to the deities on Wednesday. After returning home, this unfortunate incident occurred. We still don’t know who is behind this and why.”

South Korean companies spent a record amount of 83.6 trillion won ($61.1 billion) on research and development (R&D) projects last year as part of efforts to enhance their competitiveness amid an intensifying global technology war, government data showed on Thursday.

The latest reading marks a 15.3 percent increase from the 72.5 trillion-won R&D investments made in 2023, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The tally is a combination of investments made by the top 1,000 companies here in terms of R&D spending, reports news agency. Among the 1,000 companies, 709 increased their spending last year, while 291 reduced their investment.

Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics Co. spent the highest amount of 30.2 trillion won in R&D in 2024, followed by its chipmaking rival SK hynix Inc. at 4.5 trillion won, leading car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Co. at 4.3 trillion won and home appliances maker LG Electronics Inc. at 3.4 trillion won.

Bollywood actor Ishaan Khatter took a trip down memory lane as he shared a few behind-the-scenes moments from the sets of his 2022 short film “Fursat”, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, from Rajasthan.

Ishaan took to Instagram, where he shared a string of pictures and videos from the sets. The first image was him looking at the camera while he was walking. The second picture showed the actor wearing a fake beard and a prop on his arm.

A hilarious clip showcased the actor standing in the desert, mimicking an exaggerated Arabic accent while giving a mock-serious commentary about a guided tour to the person filming him. Another video showed the actor attempting an impressive shot by aiming a pistachio shell at a dustbin several floors below.

For the caption, Ishaan wrote: “Throwback to the sets of #fursat in 2022 where clearly the Rajasthan heat had gotten to my brain.”

Actor Shreyas Talpade is having a fantastic year as he has a diary full of work and said that it's an incredible experience because the work is consistently coming out in frequent succession.

Shreyas shared: "This year by God's grace has been really good. It started with 'Emergency' which had a completely different role. Recently, 'Kapkapiii' also was loved and appreciated and it was a different genre altogether”

He is happy with all the love coming his way for “Housefull 5,” starring Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Dino Morea, Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt, Chitrangda Singh, Sonam Bajwa, Jacqueline Fernandez and Nargis Fakri to name a few.

“Now, I am so glad that people are giving me so much love for a massive franchise like Housefull 5. It's always a pleasure to work with these amazing individuals and I certainly had a blast with them.”