Telangana’s GM Raja Rithvik settled for a silver in the prestigious Menuires International Chess Championship, held in Menuires, France.Chess & Abstract Strategy Games

Entering the tournament as the fourth seed, the Hyderabad-based Rithvik scored an impressive seven points from nine rounds in a highly competitive field that featured 86 top players from across the globe, including France, India, China, Germany, Poland, Netherlands and Italy.

Rithvik remained unbeaten throughout the championship, securing five wins and four draws.

The championship witnessed a thrilling all-India race to the top. Both GM Rohith Krishna and GM Raja Rithvik finished tied at the pole position with seven points each. Following a close tie-break calculation, GM Rohith Krishna (tie-break score of 43) claimed the gold, while GM Raja Rithvik (tie-break score of 41.5) earned the silver.

Pakistan is planning to host the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games in early 2027, as part of its endeavour to revamp the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

The plan was shared by Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, during a farewell courtesy call by the outgoing SAARC Secretary General, Ambassador Golam Sarwar of Bangladesh, in Islamabad recently.

During the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister highly commended Ambassador Sarwar for his dedicated leadership and impactful contributions to strengthening the South Asian regional framework.

Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester and dubbed ‘the King of the ‌North’, has become the new prime minister of the United Kingdom, the seventh British PM in a decade. Keir Starmer formally resigned on Monday after meeting King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.

Burnham is officially the 59th prime minister of the UK. He has been invited by King Charles to form a government in a private meeting at Buckingham Palace.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace confirmed Burnham’s appointment, saying, “His Majesty received in audience the Rt Hon Andrew Burnham MP and requested him to form a new Administration. The Rt Hon Andrew Burnham MP accepted The King’s offer and kissed hands upon his appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury.”

James Gray will be honoured with the prestigious Pardo alla Carriera (Career Achievement Award) at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, adding another milestone to the acclaimed American filmmaker's career.

As per Variety, Gray will receive the honour on August 9, during this year's edition of the Swiss festival, where his latest feature, 'Paper Tiger,' will also be showcased.

The filmmaker will present 'Paper Tiger' at Locarno's iconic Piazza Grande outdoor venue.

India on Monday formally accepted the World Trade Organization's (WTO's) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, becoming the 123rd member to ratify the global pact that aims to curb subsidies related to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, fishing of overfished stocks, and certain fishing activities on the unregulated high seas.

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal deposited India's Instrument of Acceptance with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to mark New Delhi's entry into the agreement.

The agreement, adopted at the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference in Geneva in June 2022, is the first multilateral WTO accord with an environmental sustainability objective. It came into force in September 2025 after two-thirds of WTO members accepted it.

In a bid to curb vehicular pollution, the Delhi government approved the Centre’s Programme for Accelerated Renewal and Incentivisation of Vehicle Assets for Reducing Transport Air Pollution and Network Emissions (PARIVARTAN) scheme to phase out old, polluting trucks and buses and replace them with Bharat Stage (BS)-VI-compliant or electric vehicles, officials said on Monday.

The scheme was approved in the recent cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, they added. Gupta said that the scheme is expected to benefit around 2.07 lakh truck and bus owners in Delhi-NCR.

Under this scheme, owners of BS-IV or older Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs) who scrap their vehicles and purchase a new electric LGV will receive a 100% exemption on motor vehicle tax and registration fees for 10 years from the Delhi government. They will also be eligible for a 5% interest subvention, an 8% discount from the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and fuel vouchers or a one-time benefit equivalent to the discounted value of the fuel vouchers, an official said.

Kanishka Narayan, the India-born MP who made history as Wales’ first ethnic minority MP, has kept his post as Minister of State for AI in Andy Burnham’s new cabinet, according to BBC News.

Narayan, who was born in Bihar and moved to Cardiff as a child, is one of several familiar faces retained as Burnham assembles his top team following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation on Monday. His cabinet blends ministers who served under Starmer with longtime, trusted allies.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Narayan is a member of the UK Parliament for the Vale of Glamorgan. His education includes a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Philosophy, Politics & Economics from the University of Oxford and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Stanford University.

Vikram-1 rocket successfully launched into space the Grahaa Space’s SOLARAS satellite and also the SPACE Capability technology demonstration satellite from Skyroot Aerospace.

It also carried in-space experiments from Cosmoserve Space and German aerospace firm DCUBED, thus proving that this rocket can carry payloads both commercially as well as for research purposes.

The successful launch marked the transition of Skyroot from just testing their rockets to launching satellites into orbit, which is a collection of private firms with orbital launch capabilities.

Hindi film Article 370 has won the Best Film Award in the 72nd National Film Awards. Announcing the awards today in New Delhi this evening, Chairman of Jury (Feature Film) Jayaraj said Mammooty and Kartik Aryan have won the National Film Awards in the Best Actor category for their movies Bramayugam and Chandu Champion. He said Yami Gautam will be given the Best Actress award for her performance in the film Article 370.

Chairman of Jury (Non-Feature Film) Asim Kumar Sinha said, Bhangaaar directed by Sumira Roy has bagged the Best Non-Featuring Film Award. The best short film is Hamasafar in Marathi. He said the Best Direction Award will be given to Anand L Rai for Statue of Unity-Ekta Ka Prateek.

Best Film Critic award will be given to Sanjeev Srivastava. The award for best writing on Cinema will be given to K. Pradeep Kumar Shetty for his Kannada Book Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi Kannada Cinemaada Thathva matthu Rajakeeya.

Describing a result as a 'victory for football' might seem like a trite cliche - but you won't find many neutrals disagreeing with that description of Spain's win in the 2026 World Cup final.

When Ferran Torres slammed in the extra-time winner, and Rodri lifted the trophy high in New Jersey, it is hard to imagine many will have had sympathy for Argentina.

Spain triumphed in a battle of endurance, for players and spectators, to beat the Argentines and win their second men's World Cup.

On every football metric - and, some would say, morality too - this was the right result.

"There is no doubt that the right team won," former England captain Alan Shearer said on BBC One. "From start to finish, Spain controlled possession. They were the ones looking to play football, create chances and get in behind.