National News

The water quality of the Ganga river in Bihar has been found unsuitable for bathing due to high levels of bacteriological pollution. The contamination is primarily from untreated sewage and domestic wastewater from cities along the river's banks, as indicated by the latest Bihar Economic Survey report.

Union minister Raksha Khadse filed a police complaint after her daughter and friends were harassed by boys at an event in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district. The incident involved boys taking photos and videos, leading to unruly behavior. Chief minister Fadnavis confirmed the culprits' political affiliation and assured strict action. Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal criticized the law enforcement's handling of the situation.

Earthquake alerts on smartphones offer precious seconds to seek safety by using built-in accelerometers to detect tremors. The Android Earthquake Alerts System, which Google expanded to India in 2023, turns phones into mini-detectors, sending data to servers for analysis. Despite some limitations, these alerts can be crucial for timely warnings during quakes.

Virat Kohli, after scoring a century against Pakistan, was dismissed for 11 runs in India's match against New Zealand by a stunning catch from Glenn Phillips. Kohli, who reached 14,000 runs in ODIs vs Pakistan, is playing his 300th match in the 50-over format.

Russia approves the new US foreign policy under President Trump, which aligns with its vision. The Kremlin acknowledges the damage in bilateral relations but remains optimistic about quick and successful progress. Trump and JD Vance criticized Ukrainian President Zelenskyy for his stance on negotiating peace with Russia.

Elon Musk's xAI introduces Grok-3 as a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and other AI chatbots. Grok-3 claims superior computational power and performance across benchmarks. Available to X Premium+ subscribers for $22 monthly, it intensifies the rivalry between xAI and OpenAI.

India lost their 13th consecutive coin toss in ODIs, with New Zealand opting to bowl first in the final Group A match of the Champions Trophy. The streak, stretching back to the 2023 Wankhede semifinal, is causing frustration among fans and analysts. Despite the setback, India adjusted their lineup, resting Harshit Rana for spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

A US spacecraft successfully landed on the Moon, marking a significant achievement for private space exploration. Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1's touchdown near Mons Latreille is a milestone, carrying scientific instruments as part of Nasa's Commercial Lunar Payload Services programme, which supports commercial lunar exploration.

Mayawati announced that nobody would succeed her in the BSP while she is alive, removing her nephew Akash Anand from his roles. She reinstated Ramji Gautam and Anand Kumar as national coordinators. This decision followed the expulsion of Akash Anand's father-in-law, Ashok Siddharth, for factionalism, which Mayawati said influenced Akash Anand's career.

Inzamam-ul-Haq has urged a global boycott of the IPL, citing BCCI's refusal to let Indian players participate in overseas leagues. This comes amid controversy over India playing all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai due to security concerns. The situation has intensified with Australia and South Africa preparing in Dubai for potential semifinal matches.

Rahul Gandhi emphasizes unity within the Congress party in Kerala amidst internal discord following Shashi Tharoor's controversial remarks. In a high-level meeting, leaders stress discipline and a united front ahead of upcoming elections, with firm plans to challenge both LDF and BJP.

Israel has halted the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip, following a warning from PM Netanyahu about further consequences if Hamas does not agree to a US-backed ceasefire extension proposal. Hamas accused Israel of extortion and undermining the ceasefire, calling the aid halt a blatant attack and war crime.

Six Indian cricketers have played 300 or more ODIs with Virat Kohli joining that club on Sunday, when he faces New Zealand in the Champions Trophy. Sachin Tendulkar leads the list with 463 matches. All players have had significant impacts on India's success in ODI cricket, showcasing remarkable performances throughout their careers.

Himani Narwal, a 22-year-old Congress worker, was found murdered, leading her family to suspect political rivalry as a motive. Her mother refuses to perform last rites until justice is served. Senior Congress leaders condemned the incident, calling for a high-level probe and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to ensure the perpetrators are swiftly punished.

Elon Musk addressed recent anti-DOGE protests at Tesla stores, where demonstrators called for a boycott over Musk's proposed government spending cuts. Mass arrests followed disruptions at various locations, with further protests planned in Europe.

Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder, has urged employees to adopt 60-hour workweeks and daily office presence to accelerate the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Emphasizing the intensified competition following the launch of ChatGPT, Brin believes that increasing productivity and leveraging Google's AI for coding could help the company achieve a significant milestone where machines surpass human intelligence.

The Military Intelligence and Pune Police arrest suspect in fraudulent Army recruitment scheme targeting economically weaker candidates in Maharashtra and Karnataka

India and New Zealand have secured their spots in the Champions Trophy semifinals from Group A, while South Africa and Australia advanced from Group B. The final group match between India and New Zealand will determine the semifinal match-ups. A win for India means they face Australia, while New Zealand will play South Africa.

A major outage disrupted Microsoft services, including Outlook, Microsoft 365, Teams, and Azure, mainly in cities like New York and Los Angeles, early in the morning.