132nd Edition of Durand Cup is commencing from Thursday at Kolkata. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments conducted by the Indian Army every year in collaboration with the Durand Cup Federation.

This edition of the tournament will witness 36 league matches, four quarter final matches, two semi-finals, and culminating into the final match on September 3. In a remarkable display of national integration and sporting excellence, this month-long event with 43 matches will bring together 24 football teams from diverse regions of India including two teams from neighbouring countries, as per a release from Indian Army officials.

The Indian Railways is undertaking modernisation of 57 railway stations in Odisha under the Amrit Bharat station scheme. Under this scheme of the Indian Railways, the selected railway stations under the East Coast Railway (ECoR) zone will be developed with improved amenities for passengers.

The East Coast Railway in a release on Tuesday (August 1) shared the list of railway stations that have been identified for upgradation and modernisation. The upgradation and redevelopment of these railway stations and amenities will not only solve the congestion problem but also provide open spaces to people and beautify the station area.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday launched the Department of Forest & Environment's Amrit Brikshya Andolan web portal/mobile application and the Wood-based Industry (WBI) registration web portal, along with the theme song for the Amrit Brikshya Andolan, an initiative aimed at planting a total of 1 crore (10 million) commercially-viable saplings across the State by individuals from various walks of life on coming September 17.

In an effort to prevent dog attacks on children and the public, the Yogi government aims to establish Animal Birth Control Centers (ABC) in all municipal corporations and 58 district headquarters of Uttar Pradesh in a phased manner.

The state government’s effort to establish ABC centers have resulted in sterilizations of over 2.16 lakh dogs so far.

Notably, ABC centers are being operated in 11 urban local bodies of the state. For establishing these centers, a budget provision of Rs 15 crore has been made. The ABC Rules-2023 also make the establishment of such centers mandatory.

Karnataka minister MB Patil said on Wednesday that the state government and electronics manufacturing major Foxconn have signed the Letter of Intent (LOI) for two projects with an estimated investment outlay of Rs 5,000 crore.

An estimated 13,000 jobs are expected to be generated through investment intention.

According to Karnataka's Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil, the intended projects include a phone enclosure project for which FII (Foxcon Industrialist Internet), a Foxconn subsidiary, will invest Rs 3,000 crore and a semicon equipment project wherein Foxconn would invest Rs 2,000 crore in collaboration with Applied Materials.

Vice Admiral Sameer Saxena took over as the Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, from Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, at Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.

Vice Admiral Sameer Saxena is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and the Naval War College Newport, USA.

Having excelled as a Navigation and Direction specialist with top honours, he served in the Direction team onboard the Aircraft Carrier INS Viraat, followed by significant roles as the Navigating Officer of INS Kuthar, Godavari, Delhi and as the Executive Officer of INS Mumbai.

Poet-diplomat Abhay K on Sunday launched his new book ‘Monsoon’ at Kathika Cultural Centre in Old Delhi.

On this occasion, vocalist Ananyaa Gaur and her team performed Monsoon ragas, enthralling the audience.

The award-winning poet and writer Abhay K’s new book-length poem, titled ‘Monsoon’, carries the poet’s heartfelt message from Madagascar to his beloved in Srinagar in the Himalayas.

“This poem actually takes you along the real path of the monsoon and introduces you to various things; monuments, biodiversity, cuisine, languages, and so on. It’s an ambitious poem,” said Abhay K.

Brazilian supercentenarian touted as world's oldest man has passed away at an impressive age of 127, just seven days shy of his 128th birthday. Local media in Brazil reported the news of peaceful passing of José Paulino Gomes at his home in Corrego del Cafe.

According to reports, Gomes was still riding horses up until four years ago. He leaves behind seven children, 25 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, and 11 great-great-grandchildren.

Bharti Airtel, India’s second largest telecommunications service provider, has launched Airtel IQ Reach, a first-of-its-kind self-serve marketing communications platform, which will enable brands or companies to drive targeted customer engagements through personalized communications.

Airtel IQ Reach is an intuitive platform that will enable small and medium businesses to make the most of their marketing investments as they engage with target customers in a cost-effective manner with prepaid pay-as-you-go plans, the company said on Tuesday.

Members of Myanmar’s National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) on Monday decided to extend the state of emergency in the country and the term of the junta led by Min Aung Hlaing for another six months, Myanmar Now reported citing an announcement broadcast by state-run media. The decision was taken during Myanmar’s National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) meeting in Naypyidaw on Monday.

As the term of the Myanmar junta led by Min Aung Hlaing expired on Monday, the junta chief presented a report to council members sharing details regarding two-and-half years of military rule as is needed by the army-drafted 2008 Constitution. He stressed that there was still “unrest” in Myanmar.