Veteran Gujarati journalist and columnist Kanti Bhatt died in Mumbai at the age of 88 on Sunday, days after he suffered a stroke.

Born on July 15, 1931, Bhatt hailed from Zanzmer village in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat. He had done his Bachelor of Commerce from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (Vadodara). Following his graduation, he spent nearly 10 years in Malaysia, handling the business of his uncle.

Bhatt started his journalism career in the late 1960s as a financial journalist in Mumbai. He later became a freelance journalist and also wrote columns for various publications. Bhatt gradually rose to prominence as a prolific columnist who wrote on diverse subjects.

Human Resources Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today asked students and researchers to bring back India's glory in the field of science and education. He was inaugurating Technology Expo at IIT Delhi to showcase latest innovation in field of science and technology. Over 80 latest innovations and 90 research posters by institutions from across the country are showcasing the prototypes developed by the investigators in the day long exhibition. 

The Minister said research should be in accordance with the need of common people and industry. Later talking to media, Mr Nishank assured all kinds of support to the research community.

HSBC on Monday announced the surprise departure of its Chief Executive Officer John Flint, 51, saying the bank needed a change at the top to address “a challenging global environment”.

The change comes nearly one-and-a-half years after Mr. Flint took helm was announced along with its results, initially scheduled for later on August 5, which showed first-half pretax profit rose 15.9%.

The lender also declared a further buyback of $1 billion, defying some analysts' expectations it might pause its strategy of returning extra capital to investors.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has emphasised on better connectivity between India and other member countries of the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) bloc for developing a vibrant economic growth corridor.

The MGC, is a sub-regional cooperation organisation comprising India and five ASEAN countries, namely, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. 

Addressing the 10th MGC Ministerial Meeting in the Thai capital Bangkok today, Dr Jaishankar said, connectivity is a major focus area of cooperation for India. He said, New Delhi looks forward to the early completion of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway and its extension to Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. He said, the Jakarta-based Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) have been tasked to study the feasibility of developing the planned highway as a vibrant economic growth corridor.  The full report is expected to be completed early next year. 

President Ram Nath Kovind has been awarded the National order of Merit by the President of Guinea for his exceptional contribution to the advancement of overall relations and development of mutual cooperation between India and Guinea and for promoting friendship and partnership between the people of both the countries. 

This is the highest award of Republic of Guinea. 

During the award ceremony President Kovind said, the award is dedicated to people of India and Guinea for his friendship. Earlier, The President had extensive talks with his counterpart. During the delegation level talks, a range of areas of mutual interest in bilateral, regional and multilateral fields have been discussed. 

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released a list of 20 institutes - 10 public and 10 private for the grant of the status of Institutions of Eminence (IoE).

The institutions which are given IoE status from public category includes, Delhi University, BHU, Hyderabad University and IIT Madras and Kharagpur. An official release said, the UGC made the recommendations on the report of the Empowered Expert Committee set up by the government under the chairmanship of N Gopalaswami.

Jadavpur University and Anna University can be considered for issue of the IoE status only after the respective State Governments have issued an official communication allocating their share of the funds (upto 50%).

A British Indian medic, who starts her new job as a junior doctor on Friday, has been crowned Miss England 2019.

Bhasha Mukherjee, who moved to the UK from India with her parents aged 9, will compete in the 69th Miss World contest to be held in December in London.

The 23-year-old beauty from Derby in East Midlands region of England starts her new medical job at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincolnshire, just hours after winning the contest in Newcastle Upon Tyne in North East England on Thursday night.

Mukherjee speaks five languages and has a Bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Nottingham. 

"Bhasha is an incredibly hard-working young woman, an ideal candidate to represent the multicultural country of England," said Angie Beasley, director of the Miss England contest.

Saudi Arabia will allow women to obtain passports and travel abroad without approval from a male "guardian", the government said yesterday, ending a longstanding restriction.

A passport will be granted to any Saudi national who submits an application, said a government ruling published in the official gazette Umm Al Qura. The regulation will be applicable to women over the age of 21, the local media reported, citing senior authorities.

Women's rights activists have campaigned for decades against the guardianship system. The decision comes amid a wide-ranging liberalisation drive spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

The bill will be again sent to the Lok Sabha for approval. The Bill seeks to repeal the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. 

Replying to a debate on the bill in the Rajya Sabha, Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said, the legislation will bring major reform in the medical education in the country. 

He assured the members that government will also put a cap on the fee on the fifty per cent of those seats in private medical colleges which are not regulated by NMC. 

In an exclusive interview to All India Radio News, talking about the Bill, Dr. V K Paul, Member Niti Aayog, said, the government will only advice the National Medical Commission. 

British Deputy High Commissioner Dominic McAllister on Wednesday launched a two-year India-UK joint initiative in Bengaluru that would provide a unique air quality measurement system by integrating satellite and sensor data and support India’s transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs). The initiative – Innovating for Clean Air (IfCA) will identify innovations having potential to improve air quality and contribute to a more detailed localised map of the air quality of Bengaluru through the unique combination of satellite and sensor data, including both on-the-ground and mobile data.

The programme will identify relevant challenges around EV-charging infrastructure, grid management and integrating renewable energy to ensure a sufficient, reliable and clean source of power. It will also facilitate opportunities for Indian and UK innovators to collaborate in developing long-lasting relationships to address these challenges.