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All India Chess Federation (AICF) acts after Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta’s concerns NEW DELHI: The All India Chess Federation (AICF) is working to ensure the senior National Chess Championship is held later this year after concerns were raised over the tournament’s initial scheduling for March 2027.TimesofIndia.com has learnt that AICF officials are in constant touch with stakeholders, including…

Marathi film stars gather in Pune as Bharati Vidyapeeth launches Vishwajeet Marathi Celebrity Cricket League for Sangli showdown PUNE: The Trophy and Jersey Unveiling Ceremony, along with the Player Selection Event for the Vishwajeet Marathi Celebrity Cricket League (VMCCL), was held with great enthusiasm on Sunday at the Bharati Vidyapeeth Educational Campus, Dhankawadi, Pune. Organised on the…

Dipika Chikhlia backs Sai Pallavi amid Sita casting backlash, believes audiences will accept her after ‘Ramayana’ releases: ‘I am sure that once the film is released, everyone will accept it’ The casting of Sai Pallavi as Sita in Nitesh Tiwari‘s ‘Ramayana’ has sparked widespread debate on social media, with many comparing her to Dipika Chikhlia’s iconic portrayal from Ramanand Sagar’s ‘Ramayan’.…

In 1986, at a conference on the global ecological crisis held in Findhorn, Scottish ecologist Alan Watson Featherstone stood before hundreds of delegates and made a public commitment. He promised to begin restoring the ancient Caledonian Forest, one of Britain’s last remnants of native pine woodland. At the time, the idea was ambitious. Much of the forest had been reduced over centuries through…

Senior Russian official survives alleged assassination attempt; son-in-law killed, daughter critical in Moscow restaurant bombing A senior Russian general reportedly survived an apparent assassination attempt after a homemade bomb exploded at an upscale Moscow restaurant, killing five people and injuring 19 others, according to the Daily Mail.The blast took place at the Balzi Rossi restaurant in…

Representative Image of a man recording snowfall measurements in Colorado by hand (AI-generated image) In a remote patch of Colorado’s Gunnison National Forest, four miles from the nearest ploughed road, a man known simply as Billy Barr has spent 52 consecutive winters recording daily snowfall, temperature and weather observations from his off-grid cabin at roughly 9,600 feet. Barr first began…

FSSAI cracks down on liquor brands over flavouring and misleading claims NEW DELHI: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has initiated enforcement action against several alcoholic beverage manufacturers, including makers of Old Monk, McDowell’s, Bagpiper, Antiquity Blue, Royal Challenge over the alleged use of non-permitted flavouring practices and misleading age-related…

USA cricketer Bodugum Akhilesh Reddy has been banned from all forms of cricket for eight years after being found guilty of breaching the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-Corruption Code.According to a press release from the ICC, the 26-year-old’s punishment is linked to corruption during the 2025 Abu Dhabi T10 tournament in the UAE. The ban has been backdated to November 21, 2025, when…

Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor is contesting his first election. Counting of votes for the Bankipur assembly by-election in Patna began on Monday, August 3, 2026. As of now, Kishor’s lead has widened to 14,953 votes over Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Neeraj Kumar Sinha after 25 rounds of counting, with 50,976 votes to Sinha’s 36,023. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate…

Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘King’ stays locked for Christmas release despite buzz of delay, set for box office clash with ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, ‘Jumanji: Open World’ and ‘Dune: Part Three’ Speculation surrounding the release of Shah Rukh Khan‘s much-awaited action entertainer ‘King’ can finally be put to rest. Despite recent reports suggesting the film could be pushed to 2027, the project remains firmly…

A baby born with a rare abdominal birth defect is thriving after doctors repaired the condition before birth in what specialists describe as a first-of-its-kind clinical trial.Theo, now five months old, underwent foetal surgery while still in his mother’s womb after being diagnosed with complex gastroschisis, a condition in which the abdominal wall does not develop properly, leaving the…

August is set to bring a series of bank holidays, so if you’re planning a visit to your bank branch, it may be worth checking the holiday calendar first. Banks are scheduled to remain closed on different dates across states due to regional festivals and local observances, with the holiday calendar varying from one state to another.Customers should therefore verify whether their local branch is…

Image(s): Left/Taner Yildirim/Right/Aileen M. Smith/European Environment Agency For decades, the quiet fishing city of Minamata on Japan’s southern coast appeared to be thriving. Families depended on the sea for food and livelihoods, unaware that an invisible poison was steadily moving through the marine ecosystem. The first signs did not appear in people but in animals. Cats began behaving…

More than 1.18 lakh Central Government employees and eligible retirees have opted for the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) since its rollout, the government informed Parliament on Monday.In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the total number of UPS subscribers stood at 1,18,195 as of July 19, 2026. This includes new recruits, existing employees and past…

Manu Bhaker (Image credit: Instagram) NEW DELHI: Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker has urged young people to avoid using abusive language, saying that “using bad language is not cool” and that the words people use reflect their personality.The 23-year-old shooter, who won two medals at the Paris Olympics, shared a long message on X on Sunday. She did not mention any particular incident but…

Kanwar Yatra vehicle restrictions Schools and colleges in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, will remain closed from August 3 to August 10 as the district administration has stepped up preparations for the annual Kanwar Yatra.The decision has been taken to ensure the smooth movement of Kanwar pilgrims and maintain public safety as a large number of devotees pass through the district during the…

Vijay’s final film ‘Jana Nayagan’ has been enjoying a solid run at the box office since its much awaited release on July 23. The film crossed the Rs 200 crore mark during its second weekend, remaining one of the top performing Tamil releases. However, with the start of the second working week, the film saw a dip in its collection. As the live estimates show, ‘Jana Nayagan’ seems to be…