In United States, SpaceX has carried out its first commercial launch with its Falcon Heavy rocket tasked with placing a Saudi satellite in orbit. 

The bright white rocket rose with a mighty roar and spewed thick gray smoke on the ground as it made its way up into clear blue skies over Cape Canaveral, Florida last night.

SpaceX said the rocket exerts 5.1 million pounds of thrust - that of more than a dozen jetliners. 

The rocket is to carry a Saudi Arabian satellite operated by Arabsat, a year after sending founder Elon Musk's red Tesla roadster into orbit as a test. The Falcon Heavy had been scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday but was delayed because of fierce winds in the upper atmosphere.

The Union HRD Ministry has appointed vice chancellors to three universities after the Election Commission gave its nod as the Model Code of Conduct is in place due to the Lok Sabha elections.

A senior HRD ministry official said, Najma Akhtar has been appointed as the V-C of Jamia Millia Islamia and Sanjiv Sharma has been appointed as the V-C  of Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Motihari. 

Name of Rajaneesh Kumar Shukla has been approved for the top post at Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya in Wardha, the official said. Akhar, is the first woman to be appointed to the Vice Chancellor's post at Jamia.

India and the Netherlands have discussed ways to strengthen bilateral political and economic ties, including boosting cooperation at the United Nations and other international fora.

The two countries held Foreign Office Consultations in New Delhi, with the Indian side led by A Gitesh Sarma, Secretary, West, Ministry of External Affairs, and Johanna Brandt, Secretary General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leading the Dutch delegation. In a statement, the MEA said, India and the Netherlands share a multi-faceted relationship. 

Both countries used this opportunity to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including political, economic, commercial, scientific and cultural cooperation, the MEA said.

In United States, a bipartisan group of half a dozen influential US lawmakers has reintroduced an important legislation in the House of Representatives which seeks to advance the US-India strategic relationship. 

If enacted, the legislation would ensure that the US State Department treat India as a NATO ally for the purposes of the Arms Export Control Act.

It would send a powerful signal that defence sales to India should be prioritised according to US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, which had worked on this important legislation. 

The bill HR 2123 was introduced this week by Congressman Joe Wilson, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Mr. Wilson said India is the world's largest democracy, a pillar of stability in the region, and has shown strong commitments to export control policies.
 
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2017 included special language recognising the unique US-India defence relationship that designated India as a "Major Defence Partner" of the United States. The legislation bolsters national security and helps ensure full alignment between the Department of Defence and the Department of State. 

It was difficult to decipher her maze of emotions over a Whatsapp call, two time zones apart. A day after she summited Argentina’s Mount Aconcagua in February this year, Vamini Sethi was poised over the phone. “Climbing has toughened me and made me humble at the same time,” said the 33-year-old corporate leader, who is also a professional mountain biker with several achievements under her belt.

Having set a target of scaling seven mountain peaks across the world, Vamini Sethi has successfully completed three, including Mt Kilimanjaro (5,895 meters) in Africa, Mt Elbrus (5,642 meters) in Russia, and Mt Aconcagua (6,962 meters) in Argentina. Now, the penultimate, Mount Everest, is up next in a few days.

Mumbai Indians had a less than impressive IPL season last season. They had one win in first six matches and despite winning four of their last six, it wasn’t enough to make the playoffs. This season, they have started better with four wins from six matches. In their latest outing, on Wednesday, MI beat Kings XI Punjab at the Wankhede Stadium to move third in the IPL points table.

Despite the poor 2018 season, it was a banner year for team owner Mukesh Ambani. Through his Reliance Industries, Ambani’s net worth increased from $10 billion to $50 billion over the 12 month period while doubling over the past two years, reports Forbes. He is the 13th richest person on the planet, richest in the country and has emerged as the richest sports team owner.

India’s population grew at an average of 1.2 per cent annually between 2010 and 2019, more than double the annual growth rate of China, a report by the United Nations Population Fund revealed.

In the State of World Population 2019 report, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency said India’s population in 2019, stood at 1.36 billion, growing from 942.2 million in 1994 and 541.5 million in 1969.

China’s population, on the other hand, stood at 1.42 billion in 2019, growing from 1.23 billion in 1994 and 803.6 million in 1969. According to the UN report, the country’s population grew at an average of 0.5 per cent annually between 2010 and 2019.

Nepal has sent a team of experts to remeasure the height of Mount Everest. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli bid adieu to four member team of the Survey Department in Kathmandu yesterday. 

Chief Survey Officer Khim Lal Gautam and Survey Officer Rabin Karki will ascend Mount Everest. After reaching the summit they will use a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) that will send readings about its height to their two colleagues who will remain at base camp. 

The Survey Department will be conducted four sets of surveys: Precise levelling, Trigonometric levelling, Gravity survey and GNSS survey. Nepal government aims to measure the exact height of Mount Everest amid debates that there might have been a change in its height due to various reasons including the devastating earthquake of 2015. 

Astronomers have taken the first ever image of a black hole, which is located in a distant galaxy. The image which has been captured by a network of eight telescopes across the world, shows an intensely bright 'ring of fire' surrounding a perfectly circular dark hole. 

According to some scientists, the black hole is located 500 million trillion kilometers away. Terming it as a remarkable achievement in the field of astrophysics, Astrophysicist and Project Director Sheperd Doeleman said that the image is the strongest evidence of the existence of black holes.

India has built a 25-bed maternity hospital in Nepal. The hospital has been built under the Government of India's Small Development Projects Scheme.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri inaugurated the Chandra Narayan Yadav Memorial Maternity Hospital in Siraha district today. 

The Hospital will provide quality maternity and health care services to the people of 50 Village Development Committees in and around Siraha district. It will also help in reducing maternal and child mortality rate. 

The Hospital will be run by the Chandra Narayan Yadav Memorial Trust on no profit-no loss basis. The new infrastructure has been constructed with the Government of India’s grant of 26.90 million Nepali Rupees.