India and the Philippines on Tuesday announced the establishment of a Strategic Partnership during a State Visit by Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to India, marking a significant step toward deepening bilateral cooperation. The announcement was made following bilateral talks between President Marcos and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who outlined a comprehensive Plan of Action (2025-2029) to guide the partnership.

President Marcos, accompanied by First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos and a high-level delegation, including cabinet ministers and business leaders, arrived in India on August 4. On August 5, he was accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan and paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat. The visit included a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Modi, a call on President Droupadi Murmu, and a banquet in his honour. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also met President Marcos, who is scheduled to visit Bengaluru.

Argentina dominated the 2025 Pan American Cup, winning gold in both the men’s and women’s hockey tournaments in Montevideo, Uruguay. The United States took silver in both categories, while Canada’s men and Uruguay’s women claimed the bronze medals. With these results, Argentina’s men and the USA’s women secured qualification for the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Argentina women had already qualified via the Pro League, allowing the USA to claim the continental spot. In the men’s final, Argentina overwhelmed the USA with a stunning 10-0 win, marking their fourth consecutive and fifth overall Pan American Cup title. Tomas Domene, who scored four goals in the final, was named player of the tournament. On the women’s side, Argentina defeated the USA 3-0 to clinch their seventh straight title, led by top scorer Agustina Gorzelany with ten goals in the tournament.

In Bihar, Pratyay Amrit, a 1989 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, will be the new Chief Secretary. He will assume charge on the 1st of next month. Pratyay Amrit will replace the current Chief Secretary of Bihar, Amrit Lal Meena, who is set to retire on 31 this month.

According to a notification issued by the General Administration Department, Bihar Pratyay Amrit has been appointed as OSD in the Chief Secretary’s office for now. He is also the Development Commissioner of the state.

The Boxing Federation of India announced the dates of 4th Sub-Junior Under-15 Boys and Girls National Boxing Championships which will be held from August 7 to 13 in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The event will see the participation of over 700 young boxers, including 400 boys and 300 girls aged between 13 and 14, who will compete across 15 weight categories. At the recent Asian U-15 and U-17 Championships, Indian boxers bagged 43 medals and finished second overall.

Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi has inaugurated ‘Agnishodh’, the Indian Army Research Cell at IIT Madras, aimed at turning academic research into defence-ready technologies. The centre supports the Army’s Five Pillars of Transformation and focuses on self-reliance under the vision of “Swadeshikaran Se Sashaktikaran”.

The new research centre will collaborate with IIT Madras Research Park and entities like the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development Centre (AMTDC) and the Pravartak Technologies Foundation, focusing on converting lab-scale innovations into deployable technologies. It will also help upskill military personnel in emerging domains, including additive manufacturing, cybersecurity, quantum computing, wireless communication, and unmanned aerial systems.

During his two-day visit, the Army Chief also addressed OTA Chennai officers, highlighting the need for integrated responses to grey zone warfare. He described Operation Sindoor as a landmark tri-service mission that demonstrated India’s ability to deliver precise and coordinated action, compelling Pakistan to seek a ceasefire within 88 hours. He said future wars will need both soldiers and smart technologies. He also honoured four veterans with Veteran Achievers Awards for their continued service.

A South African university launched an anti-poaching campaign on Thursday (July 31) with a unique approach – injecting radioactive isotopes into rhino horns. It claimed that the method is harmless for the rhinos and allows customs agents to detect trafficked horns.

After six years of intense research and testing, the University of the Witwatersrand, supported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), formally launched the Rhisotope Project. Five rhinos were administered radioactive isotope injections in the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve.

The university hopes the initiative will mark the start of mass treatment of South Africa’s declining rhino population.

The critically endangered Asian giant tortoise, the largest tortoise in mainland Asia, has been reintroduced into the Zeliang Community Reserve in Nagaland’s Peren district.

Officials in the State said 10 individuals of the species from the Nagaland Zoological Park in Chümoukedima district’s Rangapahar were released in the reserve through a community event on August 2. The event was organised by the Nagaland Forest Department and the India Turtle Conservation Programme (ITCP).

“These tortoises were bred and head-started from a conservation colony in our park, which has India’s largest captive population of the species,” C. Zupeni Tsanglai, Director of the Nagaland Zoological Park, said on Monday.

Russia has officially declared it no longer considers itself bound by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The 1987 arms control deal had banned ground-launched missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometres. Moscow blamed the West for creating what it called a direct threat to its national security. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the treaty’s conditions had disappeared and confirmed it will no longer follow restrictions on missile deployments.

Russia cited recent US military actions as the key reason. These included the deployment of a Typhon missile system in the Philippines and missile drills during the Talisman Sabre exercises in Australia. Moscow said these moves harmed global stability and increased pressure on its security.

The INF Treaty had already weakened after the US withdrew in 2019, accusing Russia of violations. Moscow denied the claims and said the US was developing banned missile systems.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special programme Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC) 2025 has set a new Guinness World Record for getting the most number of people to register on a citizen platform in one month. Over 3.53 crore people signed up on MyGov, showing how more and more people in India are taking part in digital public programmes.

The Guinness certificate was officially given in Delhi by Rishi Nath from Guinness World Records. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, MoS Jitin Prasada, Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar, and MyGov CEO Nand Kumarum were present.

Started in 2018, PPC allows the Prime Minister to talk to students, teachers, and parents about exams, stress, mobile distractions, and time management. It now follows the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and encourages students to see exams as a joyful part of learning, not a burden.

Minister Pradhan said this world record proves how popular the programme is. PPC 2025 got 3.53 crore registrations and was watched by more than 21 crore people across different platforms. He also said this is the second Guinness World Record during his time—the first was for the Pahal LPG subsidy scheme.

India has submitted this year a dossier titled 'Ancient Buddhist Site, Sarnath' to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre for the 2025-26 nomination cycle, the government informed Parliament on Monday.

Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said this in a written response to a query in Lok Sabha.

He was asked the details of the number of new heritage sites being proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List and the timelines set for this process.