Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra made a remarkable return to win the Gold medal at the Paavo Nurmi Games 2024 in Finland on Tuesday, June 18 with an impressive throw of 85.97m in an eight-man field.

This was Chopra's third event of the season as he missed the Ostrava Golden Spike athletics meet in Czechia last month as a precautionary measure due to an injury. However, Neeraj Chopra's performance in Finland has reaffirmed his top form as he prepares for the Paris Olympics next month. His best throw of 85.97m, achieved on his third attempt, was enough to win the gold medal.

Veteran sports journalist Harpal Singh Bedi, renowned for his extensive coverage of Indian sports over a career spanning more than four decades, passed away on Saturday after a prolonged illness. He was 72, and leaves behind his wife Revathi and daughter Pallavi.

Bedi, the former sports editor of United News of India (UNI), was a towering figure in Indian sports journalism. In recent years, he served as a consulting editor for the Statesman newspaper. Known for his wit and warmth, Bedi was the press attaché for India’s Olympic contingent in 2012, endearing himself to colleagues and newcomers alike in the media box.

"His remarkable career included on-ground coverage of eight Olympic Games, countless Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Cups in cricket and hockey, and numerous world and national championships in athletics and other major Olympic sports," reported PTI. He was also a mentor to young journalists, often putting nervous newcomers at ease with his humor, PTI noted.

Displaying a sensible approach towards the environment, the ‘Young India Group’ in Chhattisgarh’s capital, Raipur, has developed a mini-forest through the Japanese ‘Miyawaki’ method.

The ‘Miyawaki’ method requires a small space where saplings are planted very closely so that they allow young trees to protect each other and block sunlight from hitting the forest’s ground.

The key attraction of this mini-forest is over 2,500 saplings of various varieties, including mango, neem, banyan, medicinal plants, and others, planted in a land area measuring around 5,000 square feet at Gandhi Udyan in Raipur. Compared to other plantations, the Miyawaki forest absorbs 30 percent more carbon dioxide from the environment.

Marking a significant milestone in the India-US space partnership and space exploration, the two countries concluded the Strategic Framework for Human Spaceflight Cooperation to deepen interoperability in space and are working toward commencing advanced training for ISRO astronauts at the NASA Johnson Space Center, the first-ever joint effort between NASA and ISRO astronauts at the International Space Station.

A fact sheet issued by the US and India on Monday after the iCET Dialogue between US National Security Adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval read, “Celebrating the conclusion of a Strategic Framework for Human Spaceflight Cooperation to deepen interoperability in space and work toward commencing advanced training for ISRO astronauts at the NASA Johnson Space Center.”

NASA will have a hand in training two Indian astronauts, one of whom will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) late this year. ISRO chairman S Somanath had earlier said that ISRO will likely select four astronauts for training.

World No. 31 Katie Boulter successfully defended her Nottingham Open title, defeating former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova on Sunday. Boulter defeated Pliskova in the final, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Nottingham is Boulter's third career title and second this season. She had already won her opening match of the year on San Diego's hard courts.

Boulter won her maiden WTA Tour championship last year in Nottingham, thanks to an amazing performance. The triumph propelled the Leicester native back into the Top 100 and fueled her gradual march up the rankings, where she now sits comfortably as Britain's top-ranked woman.

Estonia batter Sahil Chauhan on Monday struck a hundred in just 27 deliveries against Cyprus to break the record for the fastest ton in T20 cricket.

The previous best belonged to Chris Gayle of West Indies, who scored a century in 30 balls for Royal Challengers Bengaluru during the Indian Premier League 2013.

This was also the fastest hundred in T20 Internationals, bettering the record of Jan-Nicole Loftie-Eaton of Namibia against Nepal (33 deliveries).

Chauhan struck an unbeaten 144 off 41 balls and hit 18 sixes on the way, a record for the most maximums in a T20I innings. His essay helped Estonia chase down 191 runs inside 13 overs and win by six wickets.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the State Bank of India (SBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Saturday to enhance digital payment services for users of the eMigrate portal.

The agreement was signed by Joint Secretary OE and PGE (Overseas Employment and Protector General of Emigrants) Bramha Kumar, on behalf of the Ministry, and Neelesh Dwivedi, General Manager (NW-I) from SBI, at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in Delhi.

This MoU will become operational following the successful integration of SBI's payment gateway, SBIePay, with the eMigrate portal.

Tesam Pongte, MLA from Changlang North, has been elected unanimously as the Speaker of the 8th Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

The special session of the Assembly started with the election of the Speaker. Pro-tem speaker Ninong Ering announced Tesam Pongte elected unopposed as the Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly as there was no other nomination received for the post.

After assuming the chair, Mr. Pongte expressed his gratitude to the house for electing him unanimously. He said that he will do his best to uphold the dignity of the chair and the democratic tradition. He assured that he belongs to each and every member and will do justice with all in the house.

Mr. Pongte said that the office of the Speaker will always be guided by the rules of procedures and conduct of business of the house, and the best parliamentarian convention and tradition.

Manav Rachna University (MRU) becomes the First University in Delhi NCR to install a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver at Manav Rachna Campus in collaboration with the National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL)-Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

A distinguished team of NARL-ISRO scientists including Dr. Nirvikar Dashora, Scientist/Engineer-SF, Head of the Ionosphere and Space Physics Group at NARL, Gadanki, AP, Department of Space, GoI, and Mr. Himanshu S. Sethi, Scientist/Engineer-SE facilitated the event. It is one of the initiatives under cooperative research programs of NARL with national institutes and universities, employing GNSS receiver networks. They oversaw the installation of a comprehensive GNSS infrastructure, featuring a GNSS receiver, antenna, 30M RF cable, laptop, and iron mast at the Manav Rachna Campus.

In a pioneering move, Galgotias University and Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd. have entered into a strategic partnership to launch an innovative upskilling programme. This initiative marks the first-of-its-kind in India, aiming to enhance the skills of the workforce through a unique collaboration between academia and industry. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed today in the presence of key representatives from both organizations.

A Visionary Partnership:

The MoU was signed by Dr. Dhruv Galgotia, CEO of Galgotias University, and Leesoo Kim, Managing Director of Samsung India. Senior officers from HR Department and HODs from various departments from Samsung India and Dr. K. Mallikharjuna Babu - Vice Chansellor along with Dean and other members of Academics from Galgotias University were also present to witness this landmark event.