Russia on Friday launched a controversial floating nuclear reactor on a nearly 3,100-mile voyage across the Arctic Sea from the port of Murmansk.

Loaded with nuclear fuel, the Akademik Lomonosov with three tug vessels is set to reach the port of Pevek in 4 to 6 weeks. But the maiden voyage comes amid concerns from environmentalists that have only heightened after a recent botched missile test which led to a radiation spike in a town in the same northern region as Murmansk.

Lomonosov is part of a plan to bring electric power to one of Russia's most remote regions. The 144-meter (472 feet) long platform, painted in the colors of the Russian flag, is going to supply electricity to settlements and companies extracting hydrocarbons and precious stones in the Chukotka area.

Trailing by one point till the penultimate end, the Indian trio made a spectacular recovery, shooting a flawless final end with two Xs (closer to centre) to defeat Colombia's Jagdeep Teji Singh Mejia, Gomez Zuluaga Felipe and Toro Vasquez Manuel 234-231. In the final, the Indians shot 60 out of 60 while the Colombians made 56 to lose the battle in the bronze play-off.

The compound junior mixed team of Raginee Markoo and Sukhbeer Singh also assured India of a second silver medal, beating their Iranian opponents Geesa Bybordy and Danial Heidarzadehdehkordi 154-151.

The Indian team will face Switzerland for a gold on Saturday.

The space agency shared the news on Twitter, revealing that the "Rolling Stones Rock" was a stone that was sent rolling after NASA's InSight lander touched down on the Mars' surface. "Hello '@RollingStones Rock'. Who could hang a name on you? Um... us! "When @NASAInsight touched down on the Red Planet, its engines sent a rock rolling across Mars' surface. We named it for the band," NASA tweeted along with an animated video describing the incident.

Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr also shared the news after he crashed the band's concert here. "Cross-pollinating science and a legendary rock band is always a good thing..." said Downey Jr at the concert. The popular band, which consists of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, were delighted to hear the news. "What a wonderful way to celebrate the 'Stones No Filter' tour arriving in Pasadena. This is definitely a milestone in our long and eventful history. A huge thank you to everyone at NASA for making it happen," they said in a statement.

Former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley has passed away at All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

The hospital authorities have put out a media release to confirm the news. His age was 66.

According to the release, Jaitley died at 12:07 pm. He was being treated by a multidisciplinary team of senior doctors.

Bihar government has taken several measures following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to ban single use of plastic. 

The government has banned use of single use of carry bags throughout the state. Licence of those factories has been cancelled who produces single-use of carry bag. AIR correspondent reports that behavioural change is being seen among people after ban of single-use of carry bags. 

Shopkeepers are now using paper and recycling carry bags. The state government has announced to ban single use of plastic in marriage party and other ceremonies. Besides cup, plates and glass of thermocol will also be banned. 

The government has instructed various companies to dispose single use of plastic bottles at various selling places throughout the state.  Milk co-operative federations have been asked to collect milk pouch from customers for recycling. 

Former opener Vikram Rathour will replace Sanjay Bangar asIndia's new batting coach while Bharath Arun and R. Sridhar were retained asbowling and fielding coaches. 

The senior national selection committee headed by MSK Prasadrecommended three names each for all the support staff positions and the topnames in each category will be appointed after the formalities with regard toConflict of Interest declaration is complete.

The 50-year-old Rathour has played six Tests and seven ODIsin 1996 without much success but was a domestic heavyweight for Punjab. Till2016, he was a senior national selector under Sandeep Patil's chairmanship.

India's most ambitious deep-space mission to date, Chandrayaan 2, recently completed the most complex and challenging manoeuvres in its journey to the Moon. The mission successfully entered the Moon's orbit and then received congratulatory messages not only from the scientific community but Prime Minister Modi himself. 

And now, en-route to the Moon, Chandrayaan 2 has sent back its first images of Earth's closest lunar object. As Chandrayaan 2 inches closer to the Moon with ISRO finally inserting it in the lunar orbit with the help of liquid engine boosters, expect more such images in the coming days. 

Earlier, Chandrayaan 2 released the first set of images of the Earth captured by Chandrayaan 2 Vikram Lander. The images were released on August 4.

With the insertion into the Moon's orbit using liquid engine boosters, Chandrayaan 2 has finally inched closer to its eventual goal. The information of the insertion was first shared with the world by the Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, K Sivan, who announced that the space agency had "crossed a major milestone" and is now on track for successful completion. 

Ajay Kumar Bhalla, currently serving as an officer on special duty in the home ministry, was appointed as the new Union home secretary on Thursday, an official order said.

The Appointments Committee of the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Bhalla's appointment as the new home secretary. He replaces Rajiv Gauba, who was appointed as the new cabinet secretary on Wednesday.

Bhalla, a 1984-batch Assam-Meghalaya cadre IAS officer, served as the Union power secretary, before being appointed as an officer on special duty on July 24. He will have a fixed two-year tenure till August 2021 as the home secretary.

Russia on Thursday launched an unmanned rocket carrying a life-size humanoid robot that will spend 10 days learning to assist astronauts on the International Space Station.

Named Fedor, short for Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research, the robot is the first ever sent up by Russia.

Fedor blasted off in a Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft at 6:38 am Moscow time (0338 GMT) from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz is set to dock with the space station on Saturday and stay till September 7.

The government has appointed Ajay Kumar as Defence Secretary. Ajay Kumar, is a 1985 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre and is currently serving as Secretary, Department of Defence Production. 

He will succeed Sanjay Mitra, upon completion of his term. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the appointments yesterday.

Brij Kumar Agarwal has been appointed as Secretary to the Lokpal and Subash Chandra as Secretary of Department of Defence Production.