In a significant demonstration of its advancing space capabilities, China successfully launched eight satellites into orbit from a sea-based platform.

The launch took place from the Haiyang sea launch platform off the coast of Shandong province.

The mission utilised the Jielong-3 (Smart Dragon-3) rocket, marking its second successful launch since its debut. This solid-fueled rocket, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), is designed specifically for commercial satellite deployments and sea-based launches.

A Russian Soyuz capsule landed on the Kazakh steppe on Monday, bringing two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut back to Earth after a stint on the International Space Station (ISS).

The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft with Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Oleg Kononenko and NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson landed at 1159 GMT.

Kononenko and Chub had been part of the ISS crew since last September, completing a 374-day mission. Dyson's stay was shorter, lasting 184 days.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday released the book "Khaki Mein Sthitapragya" written by former Uttarakhand Director General of Police Anil Raturi at the IRDT auditorium located at Survey Chowk in Dehradun

B Vanlalvawna has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement on Thursday.

The 1998 batch Indian Foreign Service officer is presently the Joint Secretary in the Ministry.

According to MEA, "B. Vanlalvawna (IFS: 1998), presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Cambodia,"

He is expected to take up the assignment shortly. Prior to this appointment, Devyani Uttam Khobragade was serving as the Indian Ambassador to Cambodia.

South African middle-order batter David Miller played his 500th T20 match on Wednesday, becoming only sixth player in the format to do so.

Miller accomplished this milestone during his team Barbados Royals' match against Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

Miller celebrated this occasion in style, as he scored 71* in 34 balls, with eight fours and five sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 208.82.

However, it was not enough as Barbados could score just 172/9 in reply to Guyana's 219/8, which they had reached thanks to explosive half-centuries from West Indies stars Shai Hope (71 in 37 balls, with five fours and five sixes) and Shimron Hetmyer (57 in 34 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes).

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which allows certain areas to be declared as “disturbed” to facilitate security operations, has been extended for six more months in parts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. This decision follows a review of the law and order situation in these northeastern states.

According to a notification from the Union Home Ministry, the extension applies to eight districts and 21 police stations across five additional districts of Nagaland. The areas were first declared as “disturbed” on April 1, 2024, under Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. The extension will now remain in effect from October 1, 2024, for six months, unless withdrawn earlier.

The districts in Nagaland where the AFSPA has been extended include Dimapur, Niuland, Chumoukedima, Mon, Kiphire, Noklak, Phek, and Peren. Additionally, several areas under the jurisdiction of police stations in Kohima, Mokokchung, Longleng, Wokha, and Zunheboto districts have also been designated as “disturbed” areas.

Wabtec Locomotive Private Limited, a joint venture between Indian Railways and Wabtec, is expanding the capabilities of its plant to export locomotives to Africa. For the first time, the plant will manufacture locomotives for export to a global customer.

The plant will supply Evolution Series ES43ACmi locomotives to global customers. The ES43ACmi is a locomotive featuring a 4,500 HP Evolution Series engine, offering best-in-class fuel efficiency and proven performance in high-temperature environments. The Marhowra plant will begin exporting these locomotives in 2025.

This project is of strategic importance as it positions India as a global locomotive manufacturing hub and aligns with the “Make in India” and “Make for the World” initiatives under the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” vision of the Hon'ble Prime Minister. It will also enable the Marhowra plant to export standard-gauge locomotives globally, expanding the local supplier footprint and fostering long-term job creation, thereby benefiting the Indian economy.

India’s Chandrayaan-3 continues its voyage and now it has discovered a 160-km-wide moon crater near its landing site. The latest findings were unravelled by the Pragyan rover, as published in the latest issue of Science Direct by scientists from Ahmedabad’s Physics Research Laboratory.

The new crater has been discovered from data sent back to Earth by the Pragyan rover, which is currently exploring the moon’s surface at the lunar South Pole.

The Pragyan rover traversed a highland terrain around 350 km from the Aitken basin in the South Pole, the largest and oldest impact basin on the lunar surface. This piece of lunar land can be crucial for studying the early geological evolution of the moon.

Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker has come on board as the honorary chairman for the 10th Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival (AIFF). The filmmaker will be a part of the festival, which is scheduled to take place from January 15 to 19, 2025, in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously Aurangabad).

According to a press statement, Gowariker said he was thrilled to take on the role as the honorary chairman and was excited that several remarkable directors would be actively participating in the festival, including Chandrakant Kulkarni, Jayprad Desai, Dnyanesh Zoting and now Sunil Sukthankar, who is also the Festival Director.

Gowariker said participations of acclaimed filmmakers in the AIFF would help “foster a true artistic exchange” in the craft of filmmaking. The official Instagram account of the AIFF also welcomed the filmmaker and announced, “We are honoured to welcome the legendary filmmaker Mr. Ashutosh Gowariker, as the Honorary Chairman for the Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival. His vision and passion for cinema will undoubtedly elevate our festival to new heights!”

Three Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Indian School of Business, Hyderabad have figured in world's top 100 for their MBA courses, according to QS rankings announced on Wednesday. The three IIMs are IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Calcutta. Also, the three B-schools have been ranked among top 50 for employability.

Fourteen Indian full-time MBA programmes have secured a spot in QS’ global list for 2025, including three new entries. Stanford School of Business in the US continues to be at the top spot among B-schools for the fifth consecutive year.

The QS Global MBA and Business Master’s Rankings 2025 spans 58 countries and territories, analysing the world’s 340 best global MBAs and a series of specialised high-demand Business Master’s Rankings, including Master’s in Management, Finance, Marketing, Business Analytics, and Supply Chain Management.