Seventeen migrant workers from Jharkhand, who had been stranded in Africa's Cameroon for the past several months, returned home safely on Monday following the intervention of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The workers, belonging to Bokaro and Hazaribagh districts, were among 19 people who had travelled to the West African nation through a private agency to work with Transrail Lighting Limited, a company engaged in electricity transmission projects.

However, after reaching Cameroon, they alleged that the company withheld their wages for four months, pushing them into severe financial distress. With no money to buy food or other essentials, their condition deteriorated.

Four teenagers lost their lives in a tragic road accident in Greater Noida on Monday afternoon when their bike collided head-on with a car, officials said.

The accident took place on Kulesara Pushta Road under the Ecotech-3 police station limits.

Police said the victims -- identified as Sumit, Lavkush, Rihan, and Monu Thakur, all aged between 16 and 18 -- were travelling on a TVS Rider bike when a WagonR coming from the opposite direction rammed into them.

The impact of the collision was so severe that the bike was completely mangle,d and all four youths were left critically injured on the spot.

Locals rushed to their aid and admitted them to a nearby hospital, but despite doctors’ efforts, all four succumbed to their injuries during treatment.

Major rivers in the state continue to flow above the danger mark, triggering widespread flooding situations in several parts of Odisha, especially in the northern districts.

Speaking to media persons here, the Odisha Water Resources Department Engineer-in-Chief, Chandrasekhar Padhi, on Monday stated that Bhograi, Baliapal, Basta and Jelswar blocks of Balasore district have been affected due to the flood situation in the Subarnarekha River.

He also stated that the Jajpur, Dasarathpur blocks of Jajpur district and Dhamnagar block of Bhadrak district are also affected as the Baitarani River is flowing above the danger mark.

Padhi also stated that a breach of 30 meters wide has occurred in the Kani River, a tributary of the Baitarani River near Ahiyaas Bazar under Kaspa panchayat in Jajpur district.

The Enforcement Directorate's (ED) Jammu sub-zonal office has carried out search operations in several locations in Jammu and Udhampur districts in connection with the custodian land grab case, an agency statement said on Monday.

Search operations under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, were conducted on August 22 at premises belonging to various patwaris, tehsildars, middlemen, and land grabbers, who indulged in the fraudulent land grabbing and corruption involving custodian land (land left behind by evacuees, who earlier migrated to Pakistan) measuring around 502.5 kanals, the statement said.

Gujarat continues to witness heavy monsoon showers, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing multiple alerts across the state.

Since early Monday morning, several areas of Ahmedabad have reported intense rainfall.

The IMD has sounded a red alert for Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, and Aravalli districts, while an orange alert has been issued for 21 districts.

According to the IMD, orange alerts are in place for Kutch, Surendranagar, Patan, Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Kheda, Anand, Vadodara, Panchmahal, Bharuch, Dahod, Chhota Udepur, Narmada, Surat, Tapi, Navsari, Dang, Valsad, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman. A yellow alert has been issued for other districts.

In a tragic accident, eight people lost their lives and 45 others sustained injuries when a tanker collided with a tractor-trolley carrying devotees in the Khurja area of Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Monday.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dinesh Kumar Singh said that the accident took place late Sunday night on NH-34 near the Aligarh border when the tractor-trolley, carrying around 60-61 passengers from Kasganj, was headed to Rajasthan.

A speeding tanker hit the trolley from behind, causing it to overturn. The sudden impact flung several passengers onto the road, leading to casualties.

Rescue operations began immediately after police teams and ambulances reached the spot. Local residents also assisted in shifting the injured to nearby hospitals.

Schools in 19 districts of Rajasthan were closed on Monday following a heavy rain alert. Continuous heavy rainfall has severely affected normal life in the state for the last two days.

In view of the weather situation, the Meteorological Department has issued a heavy rain alert in 16 districts of the state on Monday, prompting the administration to declare holidays in schools. As a precautionary step, government and private schools, along with Anganwadi centres in 19 districts, are closed for students for the day.

However, teachers and staff of schools and Anganwadis are required to attend work as usual.

According to official orders, schools will remain closed on Monday in Sikar, Karauli, Kota, Khairthal-Tijara, Dungarpur, Chittorgarh, Ajmer, Kotputli-Baharod, Sirohi, Bundi, Bhilwara, Udaipur and Sawai Madhopur.

Apart from these, holidays of multiple days have also been announced in other districts depending on weather conditions.

Satveer Bhati, father-in-law of Nikki, the woman who died after she was assaulted and set on fire at her in-laws' home in Greater Noida, was caught by the police on Monday, marking the fourth arrest in the case.

This comes hours after Nikki's brother-in-law, Rohit Bhati, was arrested. Earlier on Sunday, the police arrested Nikki's husband, Vipin Bhati, and her mother-in-law, Daya Bhati.

The matter came to light on Thursday night after Fortis Hospital informed the police that a woman had been admitted with severe burn injuries. Doctors at Fortis referred her to Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital due to her critical condition. However, she died on the way before receiving further treatment.

Following the incident, Nikki's family members arrived at the police station in large numbers, demanding strict action. The police arrested Vipin and Daya on Sunday; however, Rohit and his father, Satveer, were absconding and were later arrested on Monday.

The Indian Army has joined the civil administration in the rescue operations following the Tharali cloudburst in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district.

A 45-year-old cleanliness worker employed with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) died of electrocution while on duty in Kannagi Nagar early Saturday morning, sparking outrage and calls for accountability.