Marathi film “Gondhal” has been chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars 2027, the Film Federation of India announced on Friday.

Written and directed by Santosh Davakhar, the film is set in rural Maharashtra and plays out over a night of a traditional ritual centred around a newly-wed couple.

The film was chosen as India’s submission for Best International Feature category for the 99th Academy Awards from a list of 33 films, said P Sheshadri, chairperson of the selection committee.

“This year we’ve had four Marathi films, 14 Hindi films, and others films, all the films were good. It’s a happy moment for Indian cinema, for Marathi cinema. This time the official entry is ‘Gondhal’,” Sheshadri said at a press conference in Mumbai.

After being announced as the Indian contingent's male flag-bearer for the Asian Games opening ceremony, Indian kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat expressed happiness at the moment, pointing how despite all the fatigue and lack of sleep, he feels energised by the thought of carrying the national flag in his hand during the ceremony.

Pawan, on Saturday, was announced to replace two-time Asian Games gold medalist shot-putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor as India's male flag-bearer for the Asian Games 2026 opening ceremony due to technical issues, alongside double Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker.

The 2022 Asian Games gold medalist said that carrying the national flag in his hand is a moment of "immense pride" for him, despite all the fatigue caused by gym/training sessions and lack of sleep, the thought of carrying the tricolour in his hands keeps him energised.

Karnataka government has approved Karnataka Marine Biotechnology Policy 2026-2031, a five-year framework aimed at unlocking the economic potential of the state’s marine and coastal resources and building Karnataka into a hub for marine biotechnology and the Blue Bioeconomy.

With a 343.3-km coastline, established marine science and fisheries institutions, a growing biotechnology ecosystem and a strong base of scientific talent, the state aims to move beyond traditional coastal activities towards high-value applications in marine biotechnology, biomanufacturing, seaweed-based products, marine biomaterials and sustainable marine enterprises.

The policy targets growth of Karnataka’s Blue Bioeconomy from approximately $2 billion to $6-8 billion by 2031. It seeks to translate marine research into commercial applications, strengthen coastal innovation infrastructure, create new enterprises and employment opportunities, and promote sustainable use of marine resources.

India’s 15-year-old shooter Yugan Sakthivel Muthukumaar clinched the gold medal in the men’s trap event at the ISSF Junior World Cup Shotgun 2026 in Porpetto, Italy.

Yugan produced a strong performance in the eight-shooter final, hitting 27 of 30 targets to finish at the top. He edged Italy’s Francesco Tanfoglio by one target to secure India’s first medal at the Porpetto competition.

Yugan had qualified for the final in sixth position with a score of 114 out of 125. He secured his place in the medal round after prevailing in a shoot-off.

Among the other Indian shooters in the men’s trap qualification, Arjun and Vinay Pratap Singh Chandrawat finished 12th and 13th respectively, with scores of 112. Udhav Singh Rathore finished 16th with 111.

Diplomat Hansraj Singh Verma has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Cuba, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

Hansraj Singh Verma, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 2008 batch, is currently serving as the Consul General of India at the Consulate General of India in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the senior diplomat is expected to take up his new assignment in Havana shortly.

According to the Consulate General of India in Sao Paulo, Brazil, prior to the current assignment, he was Counsellor in-charge for Political and Commercial Affairs at the Embassy of India, Buenos Aires.

Anthropic and Accenture will each invest at least USD 1 billion over the next five years to expand independent evaluation of Anthropic’s frontier AI models, as pressure grows on AI developers to demonstrate that capable systems are safe and reliable.

The partnership will focus on evaluating and red-teaming Anthropic’s AI models, conducting alignment assessments and testing safeguards. Accenture’s specialist AI business Faculty will lead the work, according to the companies.

The partnership is also a key step towards implementing Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s proposal to “pace the frontier” of AI development, under which the company has called for stronger independent oversight as AI systems become more capable.

The inaugural edition of the AIFF U15 Women’s Youth League is set to kick off on October 15, 2026, at the Sporting Planet Sports Complex in Belagavi, Karnataka.

The tournament will see a total of 16 teams participating from across the country, divided into four groups of four. The top two teams from each group will progress to the quarter-finals, followed by the semi-finals. The final will be played on October 31, according to a press release from AIFF Media.

The 16 competing teams are SESA Football Academy, HOPS FC, Roots FC, Krida Prabodhini Pune, Juba Sangha FC, Sethu FC, PFC Kerala, Project Mahadeva FC, MGM Ambush Club, DKR Football Academy, SAG Football Academy, Community FC India, Portais Sporting Club, RKM Football Academy, Mumbai Knights FC, and hosts Belgaum United Football Academy.

NASA said Friday that the agency had given SpaceX a $946 million contract to fly three more astronaut missions to the International Space Station, ‌extending the company's crewed flights to the station through 2030.

The deal brings SpaceX's ⁠total number of NASA astronaut flights under the contract to 17 and raises the contract's total value to $5.92 billion. ‌NASA is relying heavily on SpaceX to keep astronauts traveling to and from the ‌station while it works to maintain a ‌second ⁠US option through Boeing.

The contract covers preparing ⁠astronauts and spacecraft on the ground, launching them, operating the mission in space, bringing crews home and recovering the capsule. It also includes carrying supplies ‌and keeping the spacecraft at the station as an emergency escape vehicle.

The UN's World Food Programme, the world's biggest ‌humanitarian agency, on Friday named US President ⁠Donald Trump's nominee, Luke Lindberg, as its next executive ‌director, a statement said.

Lindberg, currently ‌a senior US ‌agricultural ⁠official, was appointed by ⁠UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Qu Dongyu, head of the ‌UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, after consultation with the WFP board.

He ‌succeeds Cindy McCain, who stepped down for health reasons from ⁠the Rome-based agency and was succeeded ‌on an interim basis by her deputy, Carl Skau.

Indian Air Force Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke, a gallantry awardee of the 1965 war against Pakistan, died of natural causes in New Delhi on Friday.

Flight Lt Cooke was awarded the Vir Chakra — the country’s third-highest wartime gallantry award — for his role in the air battle over Kalaikunda, West Bengal, during an air attack launched from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) on September 7, 1965.

After his retirement, the IAF pilot settled in Australia. He was visiting India to attend an event organised by his former unit, the 14 Squadron, authorities confirmed on Saturday.