Paras Health Panchkula conducted a blood donation camp at Metro Town Society on May 15, drawing enthusiastic participation from local residents and volunteers. The initiative aimed to raise awareness about the importance of blood donation and support the region’s ongoing demand for safe blood.

The hospital’s medical team ensured smooth execution, overseeing registration, health screening, collection, and post-donation care with strict adherence to hygiene protocols. Many first-time donors expressed their willingness to donate again.

India total exports of goods and services clocked a robust 12.7 per cent growth in April to touch the $73.80 billion mark compared with the corresponding figure of $65.48 billion during the same month last year, despite the global economic uncertainties triggered by the US tariff hikes, according to figures released by the Commerce Ministry on Thursday.

The country’s merchandise exports shot up by 9.03 per cent to $38.49 billion during the month with high-value electronics and engineering goods registering the highest growth.

Electronic goods exports increased by a whopping 39.51 per cent to $ 3.69 billion in April from $2.65 billion in the same month last year.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and former India captain Rohit Sharma will attend the Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) stand reveal ceremony at Wankhede Stadium on Friday.

As part of the event, the MCA will officially unveil Sharad Pawar Stand, Rohit Sharma Stand, Ajit Wadekar Stand, and the MCA Office Lounge in memory of the former MCA president Amol Kale.

"The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis will attend the Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) Stand Reveal Ceremony at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday," the MCA said in a statement.

"In addition to the Chief Minister, the ceremony will be attended by the MCA president Ajinkya Naik, members of the Apex Council, former MCA president Sharad Pawar and India captain Rohit Sharma," it added.

Big-hitting opener Shafali Verma has made a comeback into India’s T20I team for the upcoming tour of England, starting on June 28. India will play five T20Is and three ODIs against England, who have a new captain and head coach in Nat Sciver-Brunt and Charlotte Edwards respectively.

Though Shafali is only named for the T20I leg of the tour, pacer Sayali Satghare has made it to both squads, adding some heft to India’s fast bowling stocks, depleted due to Renuka Singh Thakur and Titas Sadhu still nursing injuries.

Shafali had been out of the national set-up after last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, where India failed to enter the semi-finals. After strong showings in the domestic 20-over and 50-over matches, Shafali amassed 304 runs from nine innings with a strike rate of 152.76 for Delhi Capitals (DC) in WPL 2025, and finished at fourth place in the run-scorers’ charts.

The Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG) has started a special campaign against illegal advertisements here in Gurugram.

The team of the corporation's advertising branch, led by Assistant Engineer Ashish Hooda, took action and removed and confiscated the unipoles illegally installed on government land near Chintal Society in Sector-109 on the Dwarka Expressway.

During the campaign, the team also took immediate action on two other illegal unipoles installed on private land without corporation approval.

The hoardings installed on 26 unipoles were removed due to pending payment of corporation fees. The Municipal Corporation team also took action against other types of hoardings and advertisement boards, which were against the rules.

Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) said on Thursday that all-rounders Rovman Powell and Moeen Ali will not come back to India for the rest of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 due to their respective medical reasons. KKR further said that apart from Moeen and Powell, all other players – both Indian and overseas – as well as support staff members, have arrived in Bengaluru.

“Both Powell and Ali couldn’t come back due to medical reasons. Rovman is undergoing a procedure, while Moeen and his family are down with a viral infection. We wish them good health and a quick recovery,” said the franchise in its statement.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will now be holding a training session at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday evening, as well as on Friday, in the run-up to their clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) happening on Saturday, which also marks IPL 2025’s resumption.

A suspicious drone was discovered on Thursday near the India-Pakistan border in the Anupgarh area of Rajasthan’s Sriganganagar district.

The drone was found in a damaged condition on land belonging to the Forest Department near village 12A, raising concerns about cross-border surveillance or espionage.

Around 9.45 am, local villagers spotted the drone-like object and immediately informed the Anupgarh Police Station.

SHO Ishwar Jangid reached the location with a police team, and the Border Security Force (BSF) was also alerted.

The area was quickly cordoned off, and civilians were prohibited from approaching the site.

Eyewitnesses reported that the object resembled a drone measuring approximately 5 to 7 feet in length, with a damaged camera detached from its body. Its design and structure suggest possible use for reconnaissance or intelligence gathering.

The Philippines recorded 5,101 new HIV cases and 145 HIV/AIDS-related deaths from January to March 2025, according to data released by the Department of Health (DOH).

Of the newly reported cases, 4,849, or 95 per cent, were male, while 252, or 5 per cent, were female. Nearly 80 per cent of the cases occurred among individuals aged 15 to 34, underscoring the growing prevalence of HIV infections among younger populations.

The average number of monthly cases during the first quarter of 2025 stood at 1,700, representing a 50 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

The DOH reported that nearly 96 per cent of new infections in the first quarter were transmitted through sexual contact, with male-to-male sexual contact accounting for the majority of these cases, news agency reported.

Domestic stock markets closed sharply higher on Thursday after US President Donald Trump claimed that India has agreed to reduce tariffs to zero on a range of American goods as part of the bilateral trade deal.

The announcement lifted investor sentiment. The Sensex surged by 1,200.18 points, or 1.48 per cent, to end the day at 82,530.74. During the session, the index touched an intra-day high of 82,718.14.

The Nifty index also saw strong gains, closing above the 25,000 mark for the first time after October 2024, ending at 25,062.10.

The index gained 395.20 points, or 1.6 per cent, and traded in a range between 24,494.45 and 25,116.25 during the session.