External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today co-chaired the 19th Joint Commission meeting with Foreign Minister of Iran in Tehran. In a tweet, Mr Jaishankar said, the meeting was very productive and reviewed the entire gamut of the cooperation. He said, both the nation agreed on accelerating the Chabahar project. He said, India and Iran will work together closely on their shared interests. 

Mr Jaishankar reached Iran today on a two-day visit. During his visit, Dr Jaishankar is also expected to call on Iran President Hassan Rouhani.

India's shuttler Maisnam Meiraba Luwang has won the Men's singles Bangladesh Junior International Badminton Series 2019 in Dhaka. Top-seeded Meiraba, who hails from Manipur, beat Ken Yong Ong 21, 14, 21-18 in the final lasting 38 minutes today.

Meiraba had defeated another Malaysian, M Fazriq Mohamad Razif, in the semifinals. He was one of the five Indians in the main draw. Meiraba had also clinched the boys' singles U-19 title at the Woncheon Yonex Korea Junior Open International Challenge last month.

In women's singles, Indian shuttler Treesa Jolly lost to Thailand's third seed Krittaporn Jiantanet 21-12, 16-21, 21-16 in finals. 

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will give away the 66th National Film Awards at a function in New Delhi today. Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar will be present on the occasion. Gujarati movie Hellaro will be awarded the best feature film. 

Bollywood actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal have been selected for best actor award for their roles in Andhadhun and Uri. Keerthy Suresh will get the best actress award for her portrayal of yesteryear's star Savitri in Telugu film Mahanati.

Best Director award will be given to Aditya Dhar for his debut film Uri: The Surgical Strike. Badhaai Ho, about a family dealing with a late pregnancy, has been selected for best popular film providing wholesome entertainment. Veteran actor Surekha Sikri bagged the best supporting actress for her role of a cantankerous matriarch in the movie.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Assocham Annual Conference in Delhi; PM Says, India's progress towards becoming a USD 5 trillion economy will be strengthened by investment of Rupees 100 lakh crore in infrastructure; also helped by an investment of Rupees 25 lakh crore in rural economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressed the annual general meeting of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India in New Delhi.

The theme of the event was 'New India Aspiring for a USD 5 trillion economy'. The event was organised on the completion of 100 years of ASSOCHAM.

Speaking at the event PM Modi said to achieve the target of 5 trillion economy, there is a need to formalize and modernize economy. He further said measures such as increase in digital transactions to GST and from Aadhar linked payments to DBT has provided a positive move towards a disiplined economy.

He was the recipient of Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award and Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, among others.

Veteran Kannada writer Professor LS Sheshagiri Rao died at his residence in Bengaluru on Friday due to illness. Sheshagiri Rao was 94 years old and is survived by his wife and two sons. His last rites were performed at the Banashankari crematorium.

Born on February 16, 1925, Laksheshwar Swamyrao Seshagiri Rao was educated in Bengaluru and Mysuru. He obtained a Masters degree in English Literature from the University of Nagpur and served as a lecturer and professor in Kolar and Madikeri and also Bangalore University, Deccan Herald reported.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa condoled his death and said that the literary world has lost an important personality with Sheshgiri Rao’s death.

Former world champion, weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won the women's 49kg category gold medal to open India's account at the 6th Qatar International Cup in Doha yesterday.

Chanu bagged gold with an effort of 194kg in the Olympic qualifying event,  with the points which will come in handy when the final rankings for Tokyo 2020 cut are done. The 24-year-old Manipuri lifted 83kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk to finish on top of the podium.

However, it was a performance way below her personal best of 201 kg.

Former Minister and Kuttanad MLA Thomas Chandy (73) died at a private hospital in Kochi on Friday. The NCP state chairman was undergoing treatment for cancer past few years.

Thomas Chandy was the transport minister in the state cabinet and resigned from the post due to allegations related to the illegal encroachment of land in Kuttanad in November 15, 2017.

He was born on August 28, 1947, as the son of  C Thomas and Aleyamma at Chennamkari in Kuttanad. He passed a diploma in Telecommunication and Engineering before developing an interest in business and politics. One of the richest politicians in Kerala, he was running hospitality and educational institutions in Kerala and Gulf countries.

Belgium have been crowned FIFA 'Team of the Year' for the second successive time after a record-breaking year for the global ladder.

The team, known as the Red Devils, had held on to top spot in a December table barely impacted by just 19 friendlies toward the end of a year in which 1,082 international "A" matches have been played - an all-time high since the ranking''s 1993 inception.

World champions France remains in the second place ahead of Brazil in third, the positions they held in December 2018, but the make-up of the year-end top five has changed, said FIFA in a statement.

England climbed one place in 2019 to end the year in fourth, and Uruguay moved up to fifth on the back of a two-spot rise.

Argentina (9th) and Colombia (10th) are also in the top 10 at the expense of Switzerland (12th) and Denmark (16th), who have slipped four and six places respectively over the year. China dropped one place to 76th.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Indian government on Friday signed a $490 million loan for public-private partnership (PPP) project to upgrade about 1,600 km of state highways and major district roads (MDRs) from single-lane to two-lane widths in Madhya Pradesh. An additional $286 million investment will be mobilised through private sector participation under the PPP modality.

The signatories to the loan agreement were Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary (Fund Bank and ADB), Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission. After signing the loan agreement, Khare said that state highways and major district roads provide a crucial link between rural roads and national highways. The upgradation of these roads under the project will improve rural and peri-urban connectivity in the state and improve access to markets and better services.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced the names of the newly discovered stars and planets, where the name "Sharjah" was chosen for a star with "Barjeel" being the name of one of its planets.

The announcement was made yesterday during a press conference of the IAU in the French capital, Paris, celebrating the centennial of the union. During the announcement, the organisers lauded the efforts and contributions of the Emirate of Sharjah to the global scientific community.