Eight years after concluding the general framework of cooperation on the Chabahar port in Iran, India and Iran on Monday signed a 10-year contract for its operation.

The long-term agreement was signed between Indian Ports Global Ltd. (IPGL) and Port and Maritime Organisation (PMO) of Iran, enabling operation of the Shahid-Behesti terminal. Subsequently, IPGL will invest approximately $120 million in equipping the port. India has also offered a credit window equivalent to $250 million for mutually identified projects aimed at improving Chabahar-related infrastructure, officials said.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Mehrdad Bazrpash, Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran.

As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) readies to return astronauts to the moon, it has announced its plans to build a levitating robot train on the lunar surface. In a blog post, the American space agency provided details about the project called "Flexible Levitation on a Track (FLOAT)", which aims to provide a "robotic transport system" to support future lunar activities of astroinauts visiting the moon. The transport system will be critical to the daily operation of a sustainable lunar base in the 2030s, NASA said in a statement.

"We want to build the first lunar railway system, which will provide reliable, autonomous, and efficient payload transport on the Moon," robotics expert Ethan Schaler of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said. "A durable, long-life robotic transport system will be critical to the daily operations of a sustainable lunar base in the 2030s," he added.

Every year on May 15, we celebrate International Day of Families. It's a day to recognise how important families are in our society. The United Nations decided on this day in 1994 to help people understand why families matter, what struggles they might have, and to encourage people to come together. This year, 2024, marks the 30th anniversary of this special day. Let's learn more about its origin and why it's important.

The UN created the International Day of Families to highlight the importance of families in our societies. Families come in all shapes and sizes, and this day celebrates the diversity of family life around the world. It's also a time to raise awareness of the challenges families face and promote policies that support strong family units.

India and Moldova have signed an agreement on visa waiver, allowing holders of diplomatic and official passports from either country to travel without a visa.

The agreement was signed in New Delhi on Friday by Pavan Kapoor, secretary (West) of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Ana Taban, ambassador of Moldova.

The MEA stated that the agreement will further strengthen ties between India and Moldova, which have had warm and friendly relations since establishing diplomatic ties in 1992.

In its statement the MEA said, "This Agreement, after coming into force, will allow holders of diplomatic and official passports of either country to travel to the other, without a visa.”

Indian squash players Urwashi Joshi and Suraj Kumar Chand secured the men's and women's titles at the Poona Club Open tournament held in Pune, Maharashtra on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Urwashi was the top-seed at the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Challengers Tour event, defeated USA's young sensation Diya Yadav by 3-1 (11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5). This is the first-ever edition of the Poona Club Open squash tournament, as per Olympics.com.

England pacer James Anderson has announced his retirement from Test cricket after a long illustrious career of 20 years. Anderson, in a social media post, announced that he'll play his last Test at Lord's at the beginning of the English summer. Anderson's last Test will be against West Indies from July 10-14.

Legendary James Anderson is set for his final appearance in Test cricket as the upcoming home season for England will be the last for cricket’s most successful fast bowler, a report in U.K. media said.

Having become the first fast bowler ever to take 700 wickets in Test cricket during England’s tour of India earlier this year, legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne’s tally of 708 wickets in the format could be on Anderson’s target as he takes the field for one final run with the England team.

Aman Sehrawat has become the first Indian male wrestler to secure a quota place for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Asian champion Sehrawat secured a Paris quota in the men’s 57kg freestyle category at the World Wrestling Olympic Qualifiers in Istanbul, Turkiye. Sehrawat beat Chongsong Han of Korea 12-2 in the semi-final for India’s sixth quota in wrestling for the 2024 Olympics.

All of the previous five quotas were obtained by the Indian women wrestlers.

The Istanbul meet is the final opportunity for wrestlers to obtain a quota for the upcoming Summer Games.

Astronomers have searched for years for rocky planets beyond our solar system with an atmosphere - a trait considered essential for any possibility of harbouring life. Well, they finally seem to have located one. But this hellish planet - apparently with a surface of molten rock - offers no hope for habitability.

Researchers said on Wednesday the planet is a "super-Earth" - a rocky world significantly larger than our planet but smaller than Neptune - and it orbits perilously close to a star dimmer and slightly less massive than our sun, rapidly completing an orbit every 18 hours or so.

nfrared observations using two instruments aboard the James Webb Space Telescope indicated the presence of a substantial - if inhospitable - atmosphere, perhaps continuously replenished by gases released from a vast ocean of magma.

The Government has notified the Inter-Services Organisations (ISOs) (Command, Control, and Discipline) Act through a Gazette notification to be enforced with effect from May 10, 2024. In order to bolster effective command, control, and efficient functioning of the ISOs, the bill was passed by both the Houses of Parliament during the Monsoon Session of 2023 and received the assent of the President on August 15, 2023, a Ministry statement noted.

“The Act empowers Commanders-in-Chief and Officers-in-Command of ISOs to exercise control over Service personnel, serving under them, for effective maintenance of discipline and administration, without disturbing the unique service conditions of each individual Service,” the Ministry said. With the notification, the Act will empower the Heads of ISOs and pave the way for expeditious disposal of cases, avoid multiple proceedings and will be a step towards greater integration and jointness among the armed forces personnel, it stated.

China has reclaimed its position as India's largest trading partner, surpassing the United States after two years, according to the latest figures released by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). In the fiscal year 2024, India's bilateral trade with China totalled $118.4 billion, with imports rising by 3.24% to $101.7 billion and exports increasing by 8.7% to $16.67 billion.

Conversely, trade between India and the US experienced a slight decline. Two-way trade totalled $118.3 billion in FY24, with Indian exports dropping by 1.32% to $77.5 billion and imports decreasing by 20% to $40.8 billion.