Striking yet another major blow to the cross-border drug smuggling, Punjab Police have arrested a drug smuggler linked to Pakistan and US-based drug syndicates and recovered 15 kg heroin from his possession, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said here on Monday.

The accused has been identified as Harshpreet Singh, a resident of Amritsar.

Apart from recovering the heroin haul, police teams have also impounded a scooter being used by the accused for drug smuggling.

The Indian specialty chemicals sector’s 7-8 per cent revenue growth next fiscal (FY26) will be largely volume-driven with realisations under pressure, according to a Crisil report.

Trade-related uncertainties stemming from US tariff actions could upend the recovery in profitability of India's specialty chemicals sector.

Companies with balanced portfolios or catering to resilient end-user sectors are likely to better absorb shocks, while those reliant on exports or commoditised segments may face increased margin risk due to price volatility, said the report.

Glitches in ‘Pollution Under Control’ certification for vehicles and entry of polluting trucks into Delhi may come up for discussion in the Assembly on Tuesday as Chief Minister Rekha Gupta prepares to table a Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report ‘exposing’ failures of the previous AAP government in cleaning the city’s toxic air.

CM Gupta will table the report of the central government auditor on the 'Performance Audit on Prevention and Mitigation of Vehicular Air Pollution in Delhi' which will shed light on Arvind Kejriwal’s performance on the front till March 31, 2021.

This will be the third CAG report to be tabled by the BJP government in the Assembly since coming to power. On earlier occasions, the government tabled reports on the health sector and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).

Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn has transferred half of his stake in the group's holding company, Hanwha Corp., to his three sons, the company said on Monday, effectively completing the group's leadership succession.

According to a regulatory filing, Kim has transferred a combined 11.32 percent stake in Hanwha Corp. to his three sons.

Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan received 4.86 percent, while President Kim Dong-won and Executive Vice President Kim Dong-seon each received 3.23 percent.

Kim previously held a 22.65 percent stake in Hanwha Corp., the de facto holding company of the conglomerate. Following the transfer, he now retains an 11.33 percent stake.

Secretary of the Information and Public Relations Department and 2005 batch Punjab cadre IAS officer Malwinder Singh Jaggi is retiring today i.e. 31st March after putting in 33 years of distinguished service as a civil administrative officer.

Born in a teaching and intellectual family in Patiala, Mr. Jaggi's father Dr. Rattan Singh Jaggi is a prominent Sikh scholar who was recently awarded the fourth highest civilian honour, Padma Shri, by the Government of India for his literary achievements. The constructive and scholarly atmosphere of the house instilled good qualities and commitment in Malwinder Singh Jaggi from his childhood. After receiving his primary education from Patiala, Mr. Jaggi pursued professional education in engineering from the renowned engineering college GNE Ludhiana.

The short selling of South Korean stocks was tallied at over 1.7 trillion won ($1.16 billion) on the first day of the resumption of the trading scheme, data showed on Monday.

The country imposed a temporary ban on short selling in November 2023 after a series of naked short selling violations involving several global investment banks were discovered, reports news agency.

Starting Monday, short selling is allowed for all listed firms for the first time since March 2020, when the authorities banned short selling for listed firms amid a market rout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ban was partially lifted in May 2021 before it was reimposed in 2023.

As the US reciprocal tariff deadline looms, gold prices on Monday hit a record high of $3,106 per ounce for the first time, with people rushing towards accumulating the safe-haven asset amid global uncertainties.

The yellow metal has gained more than 18 per cent this year as retail investors continue to drive demand. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and UBS have raised their price targets for gold this month.

According to a report by BofA Global Research, the bullion is likely to reach $3,500 per ounce in the next 18 months if non-commercial purchases increase by 10 per cent.

Sugar production, till March 31, 2025 in the current 2024-25 season, reached 247.61 lakh tons, with 95 factories operating currently across the country, according to data released by the Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) on Monday.

Sugar production in the country continues as expected, ensuring an uninterrupted supply, the ISMA said.

Around 48 factories in Uttar Pradesh are still operational. Owing to the improved yield of plant cane, cane availability has improved and these factories are expected to remain in operation up to mid-to-late April 2025. Moreover, sugar recovery has also shown improvement in the second half of the season resulting in a higher output of sugar, according to the ISMA statement.

Telecom major Nokia on Monday said it will upgrade and expand Vodafone Idea Limited’s (VIL) optical transport network across key metro and circle locations in India.

The upgrade will increase its capacity, supporting 4G data growth. In addition, Nokia’s equipment will modernise the network, providing flexibility and efficiency, and boost VIL’s 5G rollout, the company said in a statement.

“With Nokia’s advanced optical network solutions, we are excited to build an agile, high-capacity and future-ready network that will support India’s digital transformation and drive innovation across sectors,” said Jagbir Singh, CTO at Vodafone Idea Limited.

Among the comprehensive optical suite of products deployed to enable this network overhaul include Nokia’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) platform, and its CDC-F 2.0 wavelength switching technologies.

Pakistan law enforcement agencies have been ordered to arrest and deport thousands of Afghan refugees as the government's deadline for Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders to leave the country ends on Monday, local media reported.

The authorities, particularly in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, ordered the prompt evacuation of all the Afghan refugees.

The Rawalpindi police chief has directed the superintendents of the Rawal, Potohar, and Saddar divisions to take legal action against Afghan nationals residing or working in the district, according to a report in Pakistan's leading daily, Dawn.

"We have received directions that all Afghan nationals holding ACC cards must be expelled from Rawalpindi and Islamabad," a police official told Dawn.

The digital payment landscape in India has witnessed a significant transformation, with women rapidly closing the gap with their male counterparts in recent years, according to a Crisil report.

Between financial years 2014 and 2021, the percentage of women making or receiving digital payments has doubled from 14 per cent to 28 per cent, outpacing corresponding growth in men from 30 per cent to 41 per cent, the report states.

The report also highlights that the growth of digital payments among women is not limited to urban areas as rural women have also contributed to the trend.

The addressable market for digital payments among women in India is a staggering 200 million, with women’s mobile internet adoption increasing to 37 per cent in 2023 from 30 per cent in 2022.

Myanmar's Department of Meteorology and Hydrology reported that 36 aftershocks, with magnitudes ranging from 2.8 to 7.5, have occurred as of Monday morning.

The aftershocks followed a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that jolted Myanmar at 12:51 p.m. local time last Friday, news agency reported.

About 1,700 people died, 3,400 were injured, and 300 remained missing in the massive earthquake in Myanmar, according to the country's State Administration Council on Sunday.

A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake, followed by a 6.4 magnitude aftershock minutes later, struck Myanmar's Mandalay region on Friday, causing massive casualties and damage in multiple countries.

The Meteorological (MeT) department on Monday predicted cloudy skies and rain in the southeastern parts of Rajasthan till April 3.

Light rain with thundershowers is forecasted for the Udaipur and Kota divisions on April 2, while the Jaipur, Ajmer, and Kota divisions may experience similar conditions on April 3.

In the last few days, cool winds have dipped the temperature in many parts of the state. Nights have become quite cold due to the mercury coming down in the state. Even on Sunday, the minimum temperature dropped to 10 degrees Celsius in three cities. Fatehpur (Sikar) recorded the lowest temperature at 10 degrees. Mount Abu also registered the same temperature, while Sangariya registered 11 degrees.

Due to reduced daytime heat and cool winds in the morning and evening, the night temperature was significantly low in these regions. A new western disturbance is expected to become active in Rajasthan from April 2, leading to cloudy skies and rain across the state between April 2 and 4.

South Korean police, firefighters and relevant authorities on Monday conducted their first joint on-site investigation at the original point of ignition for the nation's worst wildfires in history that charred vast areas of woodland in the southeastern province of North Gyeongsang last week.

The forest fire was allegedly accidentally ignited by a 56-year-old man on a hill in North Gyeongsang county Uiseong's Anpyeong district, about 180 kilometres southeast of Seoul, on March 22.

It rapidly spread to Andong and three adjacent counties amid high winds and dry conditions for nearly a week, killing 26 people and destroying an estimated 4,000 structures.

Police booked the man without detention last Friday on suspicion of accidentally starting the fire while tending to his grandparents' grave site, with some news reports saying that he tried to burn tree branches over the grave with a cigarette lighter.

Two children lost their lives, and one person was injured in a fire after an LPG cylinder exploded in Delhi's Manohar Park area.

The tragic incident occurred near Ashok Park Metro Station in Wazirpur around 8:20 pm on Sunday.

Upon receiving the emergency call, two fire tenders were dispatched to the location. The fire brigade team managed to control the blaze, but three people suffered severe burns.

The injured were immediately rushed to Acharya Bhikshu Hospital, where doctors declared the siblings, 12-year-old Sakshi and 9-year-old Akash, dead.

The children's mother, Savita, stated that while she was cooking, clothes hanging near the kitchen caught fire. At that time, her son and two daughters were in the room.

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has forecasted heavy rainfall across several districts of Tamil Nadu in the coming days, with isolated showers expected to continue until April 5.

According to the latest weather bulletin, Coimbatore, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar, Theni, and Dindigul districts are likely to receive heavy rain on April 2.

On April 3, rain is expected over isolated places in the ghat regions of Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, and Erode. Light to moderate rain is also likely in some parts of the state on April 4 and 5.

The RMC noted that a trough currently extends from South Chhattisgarh to North Tamil Nadu, crossing through interior Maharashtra and Karnataka. This weather pattern is likely to bring rain to various parts of the state.

Early April will be critical for market sentiment, with key economic data releases providing insights into global manufacturing, employment trends and economic activity, a report showed on Monday.

As April begins, the focus will shift to the United States, with the S&P Global Manufacturing PMI reflecting business sentiment and industrial output.

Auto companies will also release their numbers for the month of March.

“On April 2, India’s S&P Global Manufacturing PMI will indicate domestic manufacturing trends, while the US ADP Non-farm Employment Change report will provide a preview of private-sector job growth ahead of the official labour market data,” said Bajaj Broking Research in a note.

Amid rising cyberthreats and online scams, the new Digital Jan Shakti initiative will become a crucial step towards securing India’s digital future, said Sanjay Seth, Union Minister of State for Defence.

Seth said this while inaugurating the Digital Jan Shakti initiative by CyberPeace, a leading cybersecurity non-profit organisation, in collaboration with InMobi, India’s first unicorn.

The pioneering initiative is aimed at enhancing digital safety and cybersecurity skills amongst the youth and underserved communities across India.

“The 'Digital Jan Shakti' initiative is a crucial step towards securing India’s digital future. In an era where cyber threats are evolving rapidly, I congratulate InMobi and CyberPeace for this initiative which will empower our youth and underserved communities with cybersecurity skills,” said Seth.

Security forces have recovered the body of a female Maoist along with weapons, including an INSAS rifle, other ammunition, and daily-use materials from the encounter site near the Dantewada-Bijapur border in Chhattisgarh, officials reported on Monday.

A team of security forces had embarked on an anti-Naxal operation in the border area of the Dantewada and Bijapur districts.

Officials stated that continuous firing between Maoists and security forces has been going on since 9 a.m.

The Dantewada-Bijapur border is considered the most sensitive Maoist-affected area in Chhattisgarh.

About 90 per cent of Indian CEOs believe that investments in existing operations and new areas through joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions are critical for growth, a report showed on Monday.

Indian CEOs are more confident than their global counterpart on cost of doing business, revenue and competitive position, according to the latest EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook Survey: Global Confidence Index 2025.

They are very optimistic that they can successfully reimagine their business model for the future through transformation.

The survey also found that 86 per cent CEOs recognise the pivotal role of emerging technologies, marking them as a key investment priority for the next 12 months, while 90 per cent believe successful AI adoption and workforce upskilling will define industry leaders.

The makers of director P S Mithran's eagerly-awaited spy thriller ‘Sardar 2’,featuring actors Karthi and Rajesha Vijayan in the lead, on Monday released the first look poster of the film.

Director P S Mithran took to his social media timelines to release the first look poster of the film.

He wrote, “Eid Mubarak folks! Presenting the #Sardar2 first look Prologue from 12.45 pm today.”

The first look picture has Karthi sporting an intense look and holding a Katana (a Japanese sword used by the Samurai).

Police in Australia are searching for a man who allegedly shot one man and stabbed another, leaving both with life-threatening injuries.

The police service in the state of Queensland said that a 30-year-old man fled the scene after allegedly shooting one neighbour and stabbing another during a dispute in the early hours of Monday morning, news agency reported.

Police said that emergency services responded to a disturbance at an address in Surfers Paradise -- 70 km southeast of Brisbane on Queensland's Gold Coast -- just before 2 am local time.

A 21-year-old man was found at the scene with a gunshot wound to his stomach and stab wounds to his back, and a 44-year-old male was found with stab wounds to his head, neck and leg.

North Korea has hosted the first large-scale workshop of instructors for a nationwide children's union, emphasising their role in fostering young people's loyalty to leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported Monday.

The large-scale lecture for instructors from across the country was held in Pyongyang from Wednesday to Saturday for the first time in history to urge them to fulfill their responsibilities in nurturing "youth revolutionaries and patriots," Yonhap news agency reported quoting the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The report was referring to a nationwide children's union, known as the "Red Necktie" unit, which students aged 7-16 are required to join. Established in 1946, the union is estimated to have 3 million members.

Love to scroll your phone while in bed? Scientists have found that using a screen in bed can drive your risk of insomnia by 59 per cent.

While sleep is critical to mental and physical health, an increasing number of people are accustomed to using screens in bed. The study by researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Norway showed it may be associated with poor sleep.

While social media is seen to be more associated with poorer sleep because of its interactive nature and potential for emotional stimulation, a survey of 45,202 young adults, aged between 18-28 years old, in Norway showed that the type of screen activity did not matter.

In the aftermath of the mosque blast that took place in the village of Ardha, Beed, on Sunday, March 30, local police have arrested two suspects. Following the incident, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) also arrived at the site and began its investigation.

Late last night, ATS questioned the arrested suspects and initiated parallel inquiries to determine if there is any terrorism angle involved or if the blast was the result of a personal dispute or mischief.

Officially, the case remains under the jurisdiction of the local Crime Branch, which is currently investigating the matter. As part of their probe, the authorities are examining the suspects' backgrounds, including their bank details and tracking their social media activities for any leads.

A significant development in the case emerged when a video surfaced, showing one of the accused holding a piece of gelatin.

Jakub Mensik overcame rain and an opponent chasing history when he stunned six-time champion Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 7-6(4) for the Miami Open trophy.

The 19-year-old Czech player stopped Djokovic from claiming the 100th tour-level title of his career to become the second-youngest titlist in tournament history behind Carlos Alcaraz, who lifted the trophy in 2022 as an 18-year-old.

"To be honest I don't know what to say. It feels incredible, obviously. It was probably the biggest day of my life and I did super, which I'm really glad [about], to show the performance

After suspected movement of terrorists was detected on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, police and security forces cordoned off the area.

Officials said that the fresh movement of three terrorists in the Juthana area of Rajbagh police station is believed to be that of the remaining terrorists after two were killed in Safiyan village in an encounter with the army and security forces.

Two terrorists and four policemen were killed, and three others, including a deputy superintendent of police, were injured in a fierce encounter in the forested area of the Sanyal belt of Kathua district on Thursday.

On Monday, police received fresh inputs about the movement of three persons suspected to be escaped terrorists in the Juthana area of the Rajbagh belt and immediately put the area under cordon to conduct searches, officials said.

Thai authorities have detained four Chinese nationals for unlawfully entering the site of a collapsed high-rise under construction in Bangkok following the powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar.

Police stated that the individuals were attempting to retrieve documents from the site, which is now under investigation due to its connection to a Chinese-backed construction firm.

The 30-story building crumbled within seconds during the 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday, sending debris into the air and trapping dozens beneath the rubble.

Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, Major General Nopasin Poolswat, revealed that the four Chinese men were caught illegally removing 32 files of documents from the collapsed State Audit Office (SAO) building without permission, as reported by National Thailand.

The benchmark index Nifty is expected to post a 8–10 per cent annualised return in the next fiscal (FY26) while Sensex is projected to give 8–12 per cent return, according to a new report.

The domestic-focused companies are well positioned to mitigate risks like US tariff hikes or commodity price inflation.

Large cap private banks are expected to see a credit growth of 14–16 per cent in FY26. The benchmark indices have gained around 7 per cent in FY25, according to the report by GoalFi, a smallcase manager.

The report anticipates a growth of 12–16 per cent from current levels by March 2026, translating to a potential range of 8–10 per cent annualised return over the next 12 months from March 25, 2025.

The government-imposed deadline for all medical students nationwide to return to classes from mass yearlong leaves of absence is set to expire on Monday, as almost all students at major medical schools in South Korea have already decided to resume their studies.

The March 31 deadline was set by the government early this month, when it announced a conditional decision to place the medical school enrolment quota for 2026 at 3,058, which is equivalent to the figure before the government put forward a plan to increase admissions by 2,000 a year ago to address a chronic shortage of doctors, news agency reported.

The government said the revised quota will be contingent on the return of all medical students who have been boycotting classes and taking collective leaves of absence in protest of the expansion of the medical school quota.

Hyundai Motor said on Monday it will open a global recruitment programme this week to secure top-tier overseas talent across various fields of engineering.

The company plans to open the program for hiring overseas engineering Ph.D. holders, as well as an internship program for foreign university students studying in South Korea and a separate one for overseas bachelor's and master's degree holders on Tuesday.

The recruitment programme for overseas Ph.D. holders will be open to individuals who hold or are set to earn a doctoral degree in engineering fields by August 2026, reports news agency.

Key research areas include artificial intelligence and data, battery technology, hydrogen fuel cells, smart factory systems, robotics, advanced air mobility (AAM) and cybersecurity.

The company will conduct application screening in May, followed by an interview in June. Finalists will be invited to the company's Namyang Research & Development Center in South Korea, where they will undergo a final interview process.