Actress Pooja Hegde has talked about her character in the latest release “Retro” and said that becoming “Rukku” was the most fun thing she has ever had to do.

Pooja shared a handful of stills from the Suriya-starrer and said that the character Rukmini, also known as Rukku, is the “purest of souls, innocent but intelligent.”

She wrote, “Rukmani , The purest of souls Innocent but intelligent… protective and fierce when it comes to her loved ones and the kindest and most hopeful,even in the darkest of times.”

“May we all strive to be you. Becoming Rukku was the most fun thing I’ve ever had to do. I leave behind a piece of my heart with her and from today she is yours as much as she is mine. RETRO time,” Pooja added.

The number of daily Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in the country rose to 596 million in April, up from 590 million in March, according to National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) figures released on Thursday.

Transactions worth Rs 24 lakh crore were carried out in April, down from Rs 24.8 lakh crore in the previous month. This is the 12th consecutive month to record payments above Rs 20 lakh crore.

The pace of growth remained healthy at 34.5 per cent, despite a 50.7 per cent annualised increase in volumes in April 2024. The value of transactions rose 21.9 per cent from the year-ago period.

Daily transaction volumes were also higher for FASTag payments, used for parking and toll collection, at 12.75 million compared with 12.2 million in the previous month, reflecting the growth in the economic activity of the country.

In an intelligence-led operation, Punjab Police’s Counter-Intelligence of Amritsar busted an international narcotics smuggling network operated by foreign-based Jassa and his associates with links to Pakistan-based smugglers, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said on Thursday.

Five kg of heroin was seized. He said preliminary investigation revealed that Jassa and his foreign-based accomplices have established links with their India-based associate, Jodhbir Singh, alias Jodha, a resident of Amritsar.

Acting on the instructions of his foreign handlers, Jodhbir Singh actively retrieved heroin consignments and distributed them to various locations across India.

Further intelligence indicates that Jodhbir Singh also collected drug proceeds and remitted them to Pakistan through hawala channels, said the DGP.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed a new rule that could make it compulsory for certain key shareholders to hold their shares in demat form before a company files for an initial public offering (IPO).

In a consultation paper, the capital markets regulator said the rule would apply to directors, key managerial personnel, senior management, current employees, selling shareholders, and qualified institutional buyers.

If approved, the proposal aims to remove risks and inefficiencies linked to physical share certificates, such as loss, theft, forgery, and delays in transfer and settlement.

Currently, SEBI’s regulations already require promoters to dematerialise their holdings before an IPO.

However, the regulator noted that many other important shareholders still hold physical shares even when a company goes public.

This creates a gap in the system and could lead to complications after listing. To fix this, SEBI now wants to expand the rule.

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday urged the Centre to follow Telangana model for caste census by forming a group of ministers and experts' committee to study the caste profile in every state before undertaking caste census as part of general census.

Day after the Centre decided to conduct nationwide caste count along with the next population census, he suggested that the Modi government first constitute a group of ministers to build consensus by visiting the states to seek suggestions of the state governments and all stakeholders. Subsequently, a committee of experts, including officials, should be constituted to work out the terms of reference for caste census, he said.

Stating that every state has a different caste composition, CM Reddy said the expert committee should visit all the states to study the situation so that a questionnaire can be prepared for caste census.

A shocking incident has been reported from Adakamarahalli near Nelamangala town in Bengaluru North Taluk, where two persons were burnt alive and four others were critically injured in a fire triggered by an LPG cylinder leak on Thursday.

The deceased have been identified as 50-year-old Nagaraju and 50-year-old Srinivas. The injured — Abhisheik Gouda, Shivashankar, Laxmidevi, and Basana Gouda — have been shifted to a hospital for treatment.

The jurisdictional Madanayakanahalli Police have taken up the investigation. Preliminary reports suggest that the fire was caused by an LPG gas leak inside the house.

According to police, Nagaraju hailed from Ballari and was residing in a rented house with his wife Laxmidevi and their children, Abhisheik Gouda and Basana Gouda.

While replacing an empty cylinder with a new one, Abhisheik reportedly failed to notice the gas leak.

A sudden spell of heavy rain and hailstorm in Bihar on Thursday brought cheer to the people of the state, who were reeling under scorching weather.

Rain accompanied with hailstorm brought down the temperature in the state.

According to the Meteorological Centre, Patna, this change is just the beginning of a larger weather pattern influenced by the confluence of a western disturbance and moist winds from the Bay of Bengal.

The forecast warns of rain across all 38 districts of Bihar tomorrow, with moderate to heavy rain with lightning strikes especially expected in southern and eastern districts such as Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, and Purnea.

Light to moderate rainfall across the state with thunderstorms and wind speeds of 30-40 km/h were forecast for Thursday.

Officials advise residents to avoid open fields, clay houses, and standing under trees or electric poles and stay indoors, preferably in concrete buildings, during thunderstorm.

A team of Swedish researchers has identified biomarkers in the blood associated with symptoms of long Covid, particularly severe respiratory disorders.

Long Covid is a condition characterised by persistent symptoms including acute breathlessness and fatigue, after an infection caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The team from Karolinska Institutet discovered a set of proteins in the blood of people with long Covid. The findings may pave the way for future diagnosis and treatment.

"The proteins were mainly found in patients with long Covid and severe respiratory problems," said Marcus Buggert, docent at the Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet.

"This is a biomarker pattern that we know to be linked to inflammatory signal pathways involved in cell death and lung damage and that has also been observed in other patient groups with severe pulmonary disorders," he added.

In a tragic road accident on Thursday, three persons from Tamil Nadu were killed and six others sustained injuries near Katral village in Karnataka's Chitradurga taluk.

One person died on the spot, while two others succumbed to their injuries at the hospital. The deceased have been identified as 31-year-old Sharavana, 28-year-old Arjun, and 29-year-old Senthil.

According to police, the accident occurred when the Innova car in which the victims were travelling hit a road divider. Preliminary investigations suggest that the driver lost control of the vehicle after a tyre burst. Police suspect that overspeeding and negligent driving contributed to the tragedy.

One of the deceased, Arjun, was reportedly employed with the Tamil Nadu Police Department.

In a significant breakthrough, the IGI Airport Police have arrested a 29-year-old travel agent from Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur for his alleged involvement in a fake visa racket targeting Europe-bound passengers, officials said.

The accused, identified as Abhinesh Saxena, was apprehended following the arrest of two passengers -- Taranveer Singh and Gagandeep Singh -- at Indira Gandhi International Airport on April 21.

The duo was attempting to board a flight to Rome while en route to Sweden using forged Schengen visas.

During interrogation, the two passengers disclosed that their travel documents, including the counterfeit visas, had been arranged by a Delhi-based agent.