Assam Rifles, in collaboration with IIIT Manipur, signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Mantripukhri today to promote drone technology for defence and security. The event was attended by Maj Gen Ravroop Singh, IG Assam Rifles (South), and the Director of IIIT Manipur, highlighting the importance of defence-academia cooperation.

As part of the initiative, an Advanced Drone Training and Refresher Course was also launched for Assam Rifles personnel, covering drone flight operations, maintenance, and DGCA-certified training. The programme aims to strengthen surveillance, reconnaissance, and logistics support capabilities. Around 80 participants, including defence personnel and IIIT faculty, took part in the event, reaffirming the shared commitment to innovation and capacity building.

Kapil Bainsla from Palwal, Haryana, won India their first gold of the 16th Asian Shooting Championship Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, firing 243.0 in the 10m air pistol men junior final, leaving Uzbekistan’s Ilkhombek Obidjonov 0.6 behind in second.

Kapil’s compatriot Jonathan Gavin Antony won bronze shooting 220.7, bowing out after the 22nd shot of the 24-shot final.

Earlier Kapil had shot 579 to finish fourth in qualification and made the top eight alongside Jonathan who was second with 582. Mukesh Nelavali was just two inner 10s less than Jonathan, to finish third and make it three Indians in the final. Korean Kim Dooyeon topped the board, also shooting 582, but with at least six shots in the inner 10-ring more than Jonathan.

Malayalam film director Nisar, known for making mainstream movies on small budgets, died on Monday while undergoing treatment in Changanassery, industry sources said.

He was 65.

Born in Thrikkodithanam near Changanassery, Nisar made his debut in 1994 with the hit film 'Sudinam'.

Over the next two decades, he directed 27 films in Malayalam and Tamil.

His last release was 'Laughing Apartment Near Girinagar' in 2018.

The directors' union FEFKA paid tribute, saying Nisar stood out for finishing films quickly without compromising on quality.

Every day, humanitarians from all over the world put their lives in danger to deliver aid during emergencies. So, every year on August 19, people celebrate World Humanitarian Day to honour their bravery and to acknowledge the compassion that motivates humanitarian workers to help people in need. In times of global issues like conflict, climate change, and natural disasters, this day serves as a reminder of the value of empathy, solidarity, and group effort.

This day was initially set to commemorate the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, which claimed the lives of 22 aid workers. Since then, World Humanitarian Day has developed into a worldwide movement to draw attention to the ceaseless work done by humanitarians and to demand more robust assistance for communities that are at risk.

Real Madrid is, for the second year in a row, the most valuable football club brand in the world, as well as boasting the strongest brand for a fourth year on the bounce, according to the Football 50-2025 report, published by Brand Finance. Our club's brand value has risen by 14% to set a new record of 1.921 billion euros.

The Brand Finance report highlights that “record revenues achieved over two consecutive seasons, and the continuous increase in brand value, underline the strength of the Real Madrid brand, and reflect the fundamental role played by a solid, valuable brand in sustaining long-term growth. Real Madrid leads global markets as the favourite team among fans around the world."
Strongest brand in football.

Brand Finance also determines the strength of brands through a range of metrics which assess marketing investment, brand stakeholder equity, and business performance. In this area, Real Madrid maintains top spot for a fourth consecutive year, receiving a score of 94.9 out of 100, and the best possible AAA+ rating.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) and IIT-Guwahati have collaborated to introduce biodegradable and compostable materials as a replacement for conventional plastic to ensure environmental sustainability, officials said.

As a pilot initiative, NFR has introduced eco-friendly green bed-roll bags on its trains, replacing traditional plastic bags used for distributing linen to passengers.

Developed at IIT-Guwahati's in-house research and development facility, the bio-plastic degrades in compost within a short time, according to an official release.

It was formally rolled out on August 15 with around 40,000 such bags to be distributed across 25 trains originating from terminals in Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh, it said.

Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan’s moving drama Homebound dominated the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2025 awards night, bagging the coveted honours of best film and best director.

Ghaywan's movie, starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jetwa and Janhvi Kapoor, triumphed at the annual gala, which honours the best of Indian cinema on a global stage, on Friday night.

Homebound, which explores themes of belonging, displacement and the emotional complexities of returning home, will also serve as the festival’s closing film on August 24.

The country’s largest refiner and fuel retailer Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) expects to start producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on commercial scale at its Panipat refinery by December, following the recent international certification received by the unit for manufacturing the biofuel from used cooking oil, according to energy major’s chairman Arvinder Singh Sahney. By the end of this calendar year, IOC will have the capacity to produce 35,000 tonnes per year of SAF from used cooking oil, which will be sourced from large hotel chains, restaurants, and sweets and snacks majors like Haldiram’s, which normally discard cooking oil after single use.

“The capacity (35,000 tonnes per year) will be sufficient to meet the country’s 1 per cent SAF blending requirement (for international flights) by 2027…for feedstock (used cooking oil), we will be engaging aggregators to collect it from big hotel chains and restaurants. There is a large amount of such oil available in the country. The only challenge is collection. While it is easy to collect from large hotel chains, a solution needs to be found for collection from small users, including households,” Sahney said.

In Arunachal Pradesh, under Indian Army’s Operation Sadbhavana initiative, an ‘Arogyam Health and Wellness Centre’ was inaugurated at DahJhong in Tawang district today. The centre was inaugurated by Tawang Deputy Commissioner Namgyal Angmo.

Equipped with basic life-saving facilities, the centre aims to provide timely health support to villagers and tourists visiting the high-altitude regions of Thingbu, Mago, Jethang, and Luguthang in the district.

On the occasion, the Deputy Commissioner expressed gratitude to the Indian Army for establishing the centre and dedicating it to the villagers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked this Independence Day with a historic milestone, delivering his longest-ever address from the ramparts of Delhi’s Red Fort, clocking in at 103 minutes. The speech, which touched on the nation’s achievements, pressing challenges, and his vision for the future, also saw PM Modi cement his place in history as the second prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to have given such a long consecutive run of Independence Day speeches.

This year’s address was PM Modi’s 12th in a row since first taking office in 2014, breaking the record previously held by Indira Gandhi, who delivered 11 consecutive speeches. The only leader ahead of him now is India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who addressed the nation 17 times in a row between 1947 and 1963.