There are plenty of ways to complete a journey, and one of the most sustainable and eco-friendly ways is to travel by bicycle. Cycling is also great for exercise and it has several benefits, for instance, it is very effective in improving heart health and muscle strength. Cycling is extremely liberating in nature which helps to feel happy and elevates the mood.

Cycling is not only good for transportation but also for our lower-body exercise. Every year the world celebrates World Bicycle Day on June 3 to spread awareness about the benefits of cycling and people are urged to use the cycle as a mode of transportation enabling a sustainable way of living.

The day highlights the importance of the bicycle as a simple, affordable, clean and sustainable means of transportation encouraging a healthy lifestyle and building a greener environment.

The Kheer Bhawani Mela is an annual religious festival of great significance for the Kashmiri Pandit community. It is held at the Kheer Bhawani Temple in Tulla Mulla village of Ganderbal. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Ragnya Devi, an incarnation of Goddess Durga, and is revered by Kashmiri Hindus as one of the holiest sites in the region.

The Kheer Bhawani Mela has been a spiritual cornerstone for the Kashmiri Pandit community for centuries. Pilgrims from across India converge at the sacred site to offer prayers, seek blessings, and participate in rituals that reinforce their cultural and spiritual identity. The Kheer Bhawani Mela is a symbol of resilience, especially for the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community. Despite the upheaval and migration due to the conflict in the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s, many families have continued to uphold the tradition of visiting the temple annually.

Gross GST collections rose 16.4 per cent to over ₹2.01 lakh crore in May, as per government data released on Sunday.

This comes after a record high Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in April, when the revenues touched an all-time high of ₹2.37 lakh crore.

In May, gross revenues from domestic transactions rose 13.7 per cent to about ₹1.50 lakh crore, while GST revenue from imports grew 25.2 per cent to ₹51,266 crore.

In May, the gross Central GST revenues stood at ₹35,434 crore, State GST revenues at ₹43,902 crore and Integrated GST at about ₹1.09 lakh crore. Revenues from Cess was at ₹12,879 crore.

Star Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has announced his retirement from ODIs to shift his focus to T20Is, with the World Cup scheduled to be held in 2026. Maxwell last played in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, where Australia got knocked out in the semi-final.

He retired with 149 appearances in the 50-over format, where he scored 3990 runs at an average of 33.81 with four hundreds and 23 fifties to his name. Maxwell was also handy as a part-time off-spinner as his 77 scalps, including 4 four-wicket hauls, are a testament to his ability to provide crucial breakthroughs for the team.

The 36-year-old has made the decision to prioritise his preparation for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, the Big Bash League and his other global commitments.

In an emotional revelation during a live interview, kabaddi legend Pardeep Narwal confirmed his retirement from professional play after going unsold in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 2025 auction.

The 28-year-old, a three-time PKL champion and widely regarded as one of the greatest raiders in the league’s history, was overlooked by all franchises during the two-day auction. Despite expectations that he would be picked on Day 2, especially by former teams like UP Yoddhas, Patna Pirates, or Bengaluru Bulls, no bids were made.

Speaking on an Instagram Live session, Narwal said he wasn’t initially upset but had expected at least one team to show interest. “Honestly, I didn’t feel much at that moment. I was like, ‘Okay, maybe someone will definitely bid,’” he said.

Polish nationalist opposition candidate Karol Nawrocki won the second round of the country's presidential election with 50.89 per cent of the votes, the electoral commission said early on Monday, in a blow to the reform agenda of the pro-European government.

His rival, Rafal Trzaskowski, the liberal Warsaw mayor and an ally of the government led by Donald Tusk, got 49.11 per cent. An exit poll on Sunday had shown Trzaskowski winning with a razor-thin majority.

Nawrocki, 42, a eurosceptic historian who ran a national remembrance institute, campaigned on a promise to ensure economic and social policies favour Poles over other nationalities, including refugees from neighbouring Ukraine.

China has asked Nepal to join the newly formed International Organisation for Mediation as Beijing wants more countries, besides Pakistan, from the South Asian region to join the initiative formed to further its global influence.

The International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed) was launched on Friday in Hong Kong.

State-run Xinhua news agency reported that 33 countries signed the convention on-site, making them the founding members of the IOMed. However, the full member list is not yet released.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi who launched the initiative met his Nepali counterpart Arzu Rana Deuba on the sidelines of the ceremony in Hong Kong on Friday and expressed hope that Nepal will join IOMed at an early date, an official press release said here.

The Indian Navy and the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) will hold a joint exercise at sea soon.

The exercise will see the participation of ESPS Reina Sofia and ITS Antonio Marceglia from EUNAVFOR, as well as ships and aircraft from the Indian Navy. The complex tactical exercises are aimed at enhancing the interoperability between the two sides and enabling seamless operations when deployed for combating non-traditional threats such as piracy and smuggling in the Indian Ocean Region, according to a release.

In the run-up to the exercise, ESPS Reina Sofia, commanded by Commander Salvador Moreno Regil of the Spanish Navy, and ITS Antonio Marceglia, commanded by Cdr Alberto Bartolomeo of the Italian Navy, were in Mumbai from May 26 to June 1 on a short port visit. Both ships presently operate under EUNAVFOR. “The visit is significant as it is their first such visit to India under the aegis of the European Union,” the release said.

In what could be a boost to the agri-input segment, the Government registered 34 biostimulants this week, increasing the total to over 45. This could spur manufacturing and exports of these formulations. In May 2024, India had registered 11 biostimulants.

In an extraordinary gazette notification on May 26, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare notified biostimulants such as seaweed extracts, humic and fulvic acid formulations, among others, under the Fertiliser Control Order (FCO). In 2021, the biostimulants were officially incorporated into the FCO, categorising them as distinct class of fertilisers.

“I believe it’s a fairly good start that has been made. I was informed that in the European Union, probably five or six biostimulants have been registered. And we have already notified 45. We have another of 50 to 60 products that are likely to be notified in the next 60 days,” said Vipin Saini, CEO, Biological Agri Solutions Association of India (BASAI), a body of biostimulant manufacturers.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested six alleged members of a transnational cybercrime syndicate that targeted Japanese citizens. They were held following searches at 19 locations in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

The accused have been identified as Ashu Singh (Delhi); Kapil Ghakhar (Panipat, Haryana); Rohit Maurya from Ayodhya, and Shubham Jaiswal, Vivek Raj, and Adarsh Kumar from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.

“As part of its ongoing efforts to combat cyber-enabled financial crimes under Operation Chakra-V, the CBI on May 28 conducted coordinated searches...the operation culminated in the arrest of six key operatives and the dismantling of two illegal call centres engaged in a sophisticated transnational tech support scam targeting Japanese citizens,” said the agency on Thursday.