State-owned Bank of Maharashtra recorded the highest growth rate last fiscal in terms of total business and deposit mobilisation among public sector lenders at a time when most banks are facing difficulty in achieving double-digit growth.

The Pune-headquartered lender has registered a 15.94 per cent rise in the total business (domestic) in FY24, followed by State Bank of India (SBI) with 13.12 per cent growth, according to published financial numbers of the public sector banks (PSBs).

However, SBI's total business (deposit and advances) was about 16.7 times higher at ₹79,52,784 crore compared to ₹4,74,411 crore of Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) in absolute terms.

Pakistan's Sirbaz Khan scaled the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, without using any supplementary oxygen.

Sirbaz Khan, an ace mountaineer from Pakistan, achieved yet another feat when he scaled Mount Everest without any supplementary oxygen, reported local media platform Geo TV.

Sirbaz Khan reached the top of the world's highest mountain at 12:30 pm local time, and became the only second Pakistani to scale the mountain without using oxygen.

Khan had previously scaled the 8849-metre peak using bottled oxygen. The only other person in Pakistan to achieve this feat is mountaineer Sajid Sidpara.

International Day of Biodiversity 2024: Biodiversity, the incredible variety of living organisms that inhabit our planet, is the foundation upon which human existence and well-being depend. This concept, first coined by Walter G. Rosen in 1985, encompasses the diversity of all life forms.

However, in recent decades, biodiversity has faced numerous threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, invasive species, and climate change, which is being driven by human activities and has led to the extinction of many species and the degradation of ecosystems worldwide.

To address this pressing issue and raise awareness about the importance of preserving biodiversity, the United Nations established the International Day for Biological Diversity. Here is all you need to know about the day.

Reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen and Minakshi clinched gold medals as the Indian team concluded their Elorda Cup 2024 campaign with 12 medals in Astana, Kazakhstan on Saturday.

Besides Nikhat and Minakshi’s gold medals, Indian boxers won two silver and eight bronze medals to better their last edition’s record of five medals.

Nikhat (52kg) continued her dominance in the ongoing prestigious tournament as she outclassed Zhazira Urakbayeva of Kazakhstan with an unanimous 5-0 scoreline to add yet another gold medal to her coveted medal tally.

Minakshi started the day for India with a bang when she defeated Uzbekistan’s Rahmonova Saidahon 4-1 in the women’s 48kg final to give India its first gold medal of the competition.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated the the Chinese pair of Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi 21-15, 21-15 in the final of the Thailand Open. It’s a tournament that has a special place in the careers of Satwik and Chirag as they won the title in 2019 for their first Superseries / Super 500 level victory. And on Sunday they clinched their Thailand Open title.

With the win, Satwik-Chirag are also set to reclaim the world No 1 ranking.

In the summit clash, the Indians continued their dominance that was seen all week, as they finished tournament without dropping a game.

The the world number three Indian pair, who are also the top seeds in this tournament, won their second World Tour title of 2024, to give with the win at French Open in March.

The Indian team picked up its first medals in the World Para Athletics Championships with high jumper Nishad Kumar and 200 metres runner Preethi Pal winning a silver and bronze in Kobe, Japan today.

Kumar, a Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist, cleared 1.99 metres to finish second in the men’s T47 high jump final and pick up India’s first medal on the third day of competitions. American Roderick Townsend won the gold with a jump of 2.05 metres.

Lai Ching-te took office as Taiwan's new president on Monday, facing an angry and deeply suspicious China that believes he is a "separatist", and a fractious parliament with an opposition champing at the bit to challenge him.

Lai was sworn in at the Japanese-colonial-era presidential office in central Taipei, taking over from Tsai Ing-wen, having served as her vice president for the past four years.

Lai will express goodwill towards China in his inauguration speech on Monday morning, and call for both sides of the Taiwan Strait to pursue peace, according to a senior official briefed on the matter.

Lai wore a purple tie, representing a butterfly native to Taiwan, and a yellow pin on his lapel of mustard flowers, a common plant in fields across the island.

The Supreme Court Collegium has approved the proposal for appointment of two Additional Judges, namely Justice Susmita Phukan Khaund and Justice Mitali Thakuria as permanent Judges of the Gauhati High Court.

The Supreme Court Collegium also approved the proposal for the appointment of Mr Justice Rajesh Sekhri, Additional Judge, High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, for a fresh term of one year with effect from 29 July 2024.

The recommendation was made by Supreme Court Collegium comprising Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, and Justice BR Gavai.

Malti Joshi, a celebrated writer and recipient of the Padma Shri award, died at the age of 90 on Wednesday. Joshi had been battling cancer for some time and breathed her last at her son Sachchidanand Joshi’s residence in Delhi. Sachchidanand Joshi, a distinguished litterateur, serves as the member secretary of the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA).

Malti Joshi was known for her prolific literary contributions, with over fifty collections of stories in Hindi and Marathi to her credit. Regarded as one of the most prominent Hindi story writers, Joshi’s storytelling style was renowned for its uniqueness and held a special position in the literary realm. Her works have been extensively studied in universities across India, reflecting the impact of her literary endeavors on both readers and scholars. Throughout her career, she authored more than 60 books and was honored with the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2018 for her significant contributions to literature.

Born on June 4, 1934, in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, Malti Joshi received her education in Madhya Pradesh and graduated from the Holkar College of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Indore. She pursued her passion for Hindi literature and earned a Master of Arts degree in the same field in 1956.

Saudi Arabia held its first fashion show featuring swimsuit models on Friday, an envelope-pushing step in a country where less than a decade ago women were required to wear body-covering abaya robes. The poolside show featuring the work of Moroccan designer Yasmina Qanzal included mostly one-piece suits in shades of red, beige and blue. Most models had exposed shoulders and some had their midriffs partially visible. "It's true that this country is very conservative but we tried to show elegant swimsuits which represent the Arab world," Qanzal told AFP.

"When we came here, we understood that a swimsuit fashion show in Saudi Arabia is a historic moment, because it is the first time to have such event," she said, adding it was "an honour" to be involved. The show took place on the second day of the inaugural Red Sea Fashion Week at the St Regis Red Sea Resort, situated off Saudi Arabia's western coast. The resort is part of Red Sea Global, one of the so-called giga-projects at the heart of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 social and economic reform programme overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.