India’s Nitesh Kumar and Naveen Sivakumar clinched gold medals in men’s singles SL3 and SL4, respectively, in the badminton competition at the Asian Para Games here on Friday (October 23).

Nitesh produced a clinical performance to beat compatriot Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 in a clash between two Paralympic gold medallists.

”Very happy to win the Asian Games gold medal. Last time I was close, I was leading 19-16 in the third set, and then I lost. So this time, winning it and again winning in two sets against Pramod is, of course, very special, and I think it’s one of the rarest of the rare things to see,” said Nitesh, the Paris Paralympic gold medallist.

Greece’s Parliament approved a bill on Friday (October 23, 2026) that bans the ‌use of social media platforms for children under ⁠15 amid growing concerns over their impact on the health ‌and safety of minors.

The ban comes ‌into force on ‌January ⁠1, 2027

Australia was ⁠the first country to pass legislation to curb the use of social media ‌by minors, doing so last year. A similar law passed in France was ‌struck down by the country’s Constitutional Council in August

Greek Prime ⁠Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said social media platforms have 2-1/2 ‌months to devise a way to verify users’ ages and protect their privacy

Greece is among seven European Union countries ‌seeking an age verification solution with the European Commission

Greece says it is ⁠standing by parents to help ⁠curb the “endless scrolling” that deprives children ‌of sleep, concentration and time with their friends

Telangana government will host Raksha Expo 2026, the inaugural edition of the State-level expo for the aerospace, space, defence and internal security sectors, from December 7 to 9 at the Bharat Future City, near Hyderabad, as part of the Invest Telangana Global Summit 2026.

It is the first such expo being organised by any State and the first in the country to bring space and internal security together with aerospace and defence on one platform. Raksha Expo will serve as a forum to showcase Telangana’s vision for defence sector and support India’s mission to become aatmanirbhar in defence research design and manufacturing capabilities and emerge as a global exporter.

Seeking to highlight how the State must be part of the revolutionary change underway in the defence industry, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said “the nature of conflict is changing. Conventional methods of warfare and statecraft now operate alongside drones and new-age missiles. Telangana must be the centre of this revolution.”

The state government has directed local bodies across the state to enforce mandatory rainwater harvesting in all buildings, both urban and rural, and restore defunct structures as part of a statewide campaign to promote rainwater conservation during the northeast monsoon.

The order, issued on October 16, calls for inspections of government offices, schools, hospitals and other public institutions, besides residential and commercial buildings, to ensure that rainwater harvesting systems are functional.

Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday inaugurated an awareness campaign on rainwater harvesting and launched ‘Thuli’, the campaign’s raindrop logo, at an event on Marina Beach in Chennai.

NCDEX, formerly the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange, on Thursday launched two indices, NDEX and FINNDEX, marking its entry into the equity and equity derivatives markets.

NDEX is a benchmark comprising 20 large and liquid Indian equities selected from a universe of the top 60 NSE-listed companies. FINNDEX comprises 15 financial sector stocks, excluding insurance companies, drawn from the top 40 eligible companies.

Stocks are ranked on a composite score that gives 30 per cent weightage each to free-float market capitalisation and average daily traded value, and 20 per cent each to beta and volatility. The methodology seeks to combine company size, trading activity and a stock’s sensitivity to the market.

Indian para-archers Sheetal Devi and Toman Kumar clinched the gold medal in the compound mixed team event at the Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday, securing India’s first archery gold of the ongoing edition.

The Indian pair, who are also world championship bronze medallists, defeated their Indonesian opponents 151-148 in the final to claim the top honours.

This was Sheetal’s second medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, having earlier won silver in the women’s compound doubles event alongside Payal Nag.

Sheetal and Kumar entered the competition in impressive form, setting a new world record in the mixed team qualification round in Okazaki.

India will begin their title defence at the ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup 2027 against the West Indies in Kirtipur on January 22, as the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the schedule for the third edition of the tournament, to be co-hosted by Bangladesh and Nepal from January 21 to February 6.

Sixteen teams will compete in 41 matches across four venues in Chattogram, Sylhet and Kathmandu, with the final scheduled for February 6 and February 7 designated as the reserve day.

India will be aiming for a third consecutive title after winning the inaugural edition in South Africa in 2023 and retaining the trophy in Malaysia in 2025. India, led by Niki Prasad, defeated South Africa in the final of the previous edition to underline their dominance in the competition.

India have been drawn in Group A alongside Ireland, the West Indies and hosts Nepal. They will open their campaign against the West Indies at the TU International Cricket Stadium in Kirtipur before taking on Nepal on January 24 and Ireland on January 26.

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will launch the nationwide ‘Khet Bachao Abhiyan-Rabi 2026’ from Karnal in Haryana today. The campaign will continue until November 30. The initiative is aimed at promoting sustainable agriculture, improving soil health and encouraging the judicious use of agricultural resources.

The campaign aims to create awareness among farmers about the balanced and judicious use of fertilisers and other agricultural inputs based on soil testing. It will promote crop diversification through oilseed, pulse and horticulture missions, encourage the effective utilisation of fallow fields after paddy harvesting and promote proper crop residue management.

The campaign will also focus on training farmers in the appropriate use of organic and bio-based agricultural products and promoting natural farming through awareness programmes, training sessions and field demonstrations. As part of the campaign, farmers’ conferences, Kisan Chaupals, training sessions and field demonstrations will be organised at the state, district, block and Gram Panchayat levels. Agriculture departments, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, ICAR institutes and agricultural universities will work together to ensure wider participation to strengthen public outreach.

Vummidi Ethiraj, the jeweller who helped craft the historic sengol presented to Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947 and later installed in the new Parliament building, died in Chennai on Wednesday. He was 99.

President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the leaders who paid tribute to Ethiraj, whose family owns the 125-year-old Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers.

Born on November 25, 1926, Ethiraj was 20 when he helped make the gold-plated silver sceptre at the time of Independence.

Nehru received the sengol from priests of Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam on the night of August 14, 1947. PM Modi ceremonially installed it in the new Parliament building on May 28, 2023.

It is Ayudha Pooja day and Tiruchy Road in Coimbatore is at its busiest. Even as makeshift shops selling flowers and puffed rice do brisk business, in the skies above, something magical unfolds. We first spot them here and there: blue tiger and dark blue tiger butterflies, and a few common crows float above us. Soon, there are more. They seem to be everywhere. That is when we realise we are right on the migratory route of lakhs and lakhs of butterflies flying from the Eastern Ghats towards the Western Ghats to escape the North-East monsoon that is battering Chennai and its surrounding districts.

Butterfly watchers in cities along their path are on high alert. This is the moment they have been waiting for all year. Alerts on the WhatsApp group Butterfly Migration India invite men and women in places such as Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, and Madurai, apart from Kerala, to step outside and count the butterflies.