Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Monday launched a crew of four private astronauts led by a crypto entrepreneur on a mission to orbit Earth from pole to pole, a novel trajectory in which no humans have traveled before.

Maltese investor Chun Wang, a Chinese-born magnate who founded a bitcoin mining company, is the bankroller and commander of the SpaceX mission, named Fram2, a reference to the Norwegian “Fram” ship that pioneered Arctic exploration at the turn of the 20th century.

Wang and three associates launched aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule at 9:47 p.m. EDT on Monday (0147 GMT on Tuesday) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, setting off for a free-flying mission for three to five days, during which they will partake in 22 research experiments largely centered on how spaceflight and microgravity affect the human body.

A year-long “Cleanliness Drive” – Hnatlangpui – was set into motion in Aizawl, Mizoram on Monday. The “Hnatlangpui” is being undertaken jointly under the aegis of Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation Department, Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) and Central Young Mizo Association (CYMA).

Speaking at the inauguration program, Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation Minister K Sapdanga said that the Government is taking up proactive measures to keep Mizoram neat and clean. He said that the Government has accorded top priority for cleanliness in all towns, cities and villages within the state.

The Minister said that the Government is focusing on the ‘Comprehensive Plan For Municipal Waste Management in Aizawl’ to keep the capital city neat and clean through all seasons. He said that a ‘Monitoring Committee’ is being constituted under the Chairmanship of UD & PA Secretary of Mizoram Government. Sapdanga said that the Government is coming up with ‘Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility’ to cater to the “cleanliness campaign” of Hospitals and Health Care Centres. The state-wide “Cleanliness Campaign” – Hnatlangpui – will go till March next year.

In a boost to Maharashtra's Maritime capability, a Shipyard located in the key region of Dabhol in Konkan region has entered into operationalization by carrying out the important Steel Cutting Ceremony.

Square Port Shipyard Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Hazoor Multi Projects Limited, has secured an order from a shipping company located in the United Kingdom. The all-important steel cutting ceremony, which marks the initiation of the ship building activity was carried out on the auspicious occasion of Gudi Padwa at their shipyard located at Dabhol - Usgaon.

Fattehsingh Patil, Director of Square Port Shipyard stated, "The ship building and repair industry in India has immense potential, however its capability is grossly under-utilized. The Government of India has provided a boost to this sector through its recent allocation in the Financial Budget for 2025-26. We hope that our (today's) steel cutting ceremony shall be an important addition to Maharashtra's shipbuilding capability and assist in realizing Maharashtra's goal of becoming a $1 Trillion economy by 2027. With this steel cutting for building of a new Landing Craft, a total of 5 vessels are under construction at the shipyard as on today. We are in talks with many other major foreign shipyards and hope to give even more positive news in the coming few months," he added.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday launched free bus services for women in the Union Territory.

“During the Budget (session), we made a special announcement about women – that our SRTC (State Road Transport Corporation) and smart buses will offer free service to them from April 1,” the Chief Minister said after inaugurating the initiative at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC).

“Today, we launched that service with the hope that it will make their travel easy, whether for their education, shopping or (for a) picnic,” he said.

Nikhil Singhal, a distinguished media strategist, Founder of Vigor Media Worldwide, and President of the Noida High Rise Federation, was honored with the prestigious Uttar Pradesh Anmol Ratan Award. The award ceremony, hosted by the Tapasya Foundation Trust, took place at the iconic Taj Lucknow. This recognition highlights his remarkable contributions to the public relations industry and his exemplary leadership in strategic communication.

The event brought together distinguished personalities from diverse sectors, including media, public relations, corporate communications, and governance. Shri Akhilesh Yadav, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, presented the award in recognition of Nikhil Singhal's groundbreaking efforts in revolutionizing the PR landscape and crafting impactful communication strategies.

LTIMindtree [NSE: LTIM, BSE: 540005], a global technology consulting and digital solutions company, today announced the expansion of its global strategic partnership with Google Cloud. As a part of this collaboration, LTIMindtree will leverage offerings powered by Google Cloud technology using Agentic AI to boost business growth and redefine cloud landscape for clients worldwide. Using Gemini models, along with other innovative Google Cloud technologies, LTIMindtree will collaboratively develop industry-specific solutions to drive broad-based GenAI adoption.

Microsoft has been at the heart of computing for half a century, becoming a tech stalwart almost taken for granted as lifestyles embraced the internet.

As the company, founded with a vision of putting computers in every home and office, celebrates its 50th anniversary on Friday, it is looking to boost its fortunes by being a leader in the fast-developing field of artificial intelligence (AI).

"From a storytelling standpoint, they've been a boring company and a boring stock," eMarketer analyst Jeremy Goldman said of the Richmond, Washington-based behemoth.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the BIMSTEC summit on April 4, where leaders will focus on strengthening maritime cooperation. A key highlight of the summit will be the signing of the Agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation, which aims to improve cargo and passenger transport across the Bay of Bengal. This agreement is expected to boost trade and connectivity among BIMSTEC member countries—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand—by enhancing maritime links and making better use of the region’s strategic location.

During the summit, leaders will also unveil the Vision 2030 document, which lays out a long-term plan for regional development. This vision will cover important areas such as agriculture, food security, connectivity, climate change, disaster management, and sustainable development. Member countries are expected to align their policies with this vision to ensure stronger regional cooperation and economic growth.

India’s women’s No. 1 Anahat Singh showed exactly why she is at the top of the pile, as she despatched the challenge from Helen Tang to clinch the JSW Indian Open title in grand style, at the lawns of the Bombay Gymkhana, on Friday evening. Supported by JSW, this was the 17-year-old Anahat’s sixth title on the bounce.

In the women’s singles final, India’s teenage sensation Anahat Singh was in fine form against Helen Tang. The India No. 1 had Helen fighting hard in the other corner during the first set, but Anahat did enough to clinch a 1-0 lead.

To promote tourism and wildlife conservation in Punjab, the government has planned to develop the Jhajjar-Bachauli Wildlife Sanctuary of Sri Anandpur Sahib into an eco-tourism and the first Leopard safari destination in the state. This was announced in the state’s budget presented yesterday for the year 2025-26. It has also been announced to develop Nangal as Punjab’s next big tourist spot for which a provision of Rs. 10 Crore has been kept in the budget.