Images from Day 3 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros on Tuesday

The combined Left parties drew a blank in the polls to the assembly which they had run with an overwhelming majority for 34 long years, with their vote share dwindling to a mere 5.47 per cent in 2021.

Intensifying its efforts, the Indian Navy has deployed nine warships to bring liquid oxygen and other medical supplies from several countries in Persian Gulf and south-east Asia as hospitals across India continued to reel under acute shortage of the life-saving gas following a massive surge in COVID-19 cases.

Despite being a neighbour, Pakistan has never accounted for more than 2 per cent of India's total exports, and its share in India's total imports is less than 1 per cent. On the other hand, bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh has increased five times.

Admiral Philips Davidson, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, also told the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that China's recent activities along the Line of Actual Control have opened India's eyes to what cooperative effort with others might mean for their own defensive needs as he observed that New Delhi, in the very near term, will deepen its engagement with the Quad.

India is pursuing sales to South East Asian countries that are wary of Chinese aggression, including Vietnam and the Philippines.

With an epic battle of billionaires for supremacy in one of the world's most prolific markets and a pandemic-propelled surge in online shopping in the background, India's nearly trillion-dollar retail market is hoping to touch 85 per cent of the pre-COVID business in the first half of the New Year. In a year when the COVID-19 carnage ripped apart the retail business, circa 2020 will best go down for the unravelling of the war between Jeff Bezos, the world's wealthiest man, and richest Indian Mukesh Ambani for pre-eminence in the booming market that is estimated to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025. It all started with Ambani's Reliance Industries agreeing in August to buy assets of the nation's second-largest retailer for Rs 24,713 crore, just a year after Bezos' Amazon purchased an indirect stake in the indebted Future Retail.

For the first time, consumers, including those at the so-called bottom of the pyramid, are monetising gold by taking loans from banks, offering the yellow metal as collateral, says Tamal Bandyopadhyay.

A day after the RBI put in public domain a draft scheme of merger of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with subsidiary of Singapore-based DBS, public sector banks' officer union AIBOC on Wednesday said the amalgamation is not in the national interest and demanded the consolidation with any PSB. The proposed amalgamation of the cash-strapped LVB with DBS Bank India seems to be a ploy to provide entry of foreign banks into the country in a big way, All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) president Sunil Kumar said. The Indian banking sector provides huge opportunity for growth, so the foreign banks have been looking at inorganic route to expand their presence for long, he said.

Prayers were offered and sweets distributed though people mostly took the virtual route to extend wishes. People also visited temples, observing social distancing norms.

Do you think Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer can do the job for my team?

India is among 120 countries which backed the draft resolution put forward by the European Union and several other countries.

While some CMs suggested reopening economic activity in phases, others pitched for the extension of the coronavirus lockdown, but with a carefully crafted exit strategy

The ministry of home affairs, however, said there was a need to maintain a strict lockdown till May 3 so that the gains are not squandered away.

India will export anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, high in demand globally, only to foreign governments and not to private companies, as the product is under prohibited or banned category of exports, sources said. Although exports of this medicine is completely banned, India has decided to export this anti-malarial drug in sync with its global commitment to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday that majority of the imported cases are the Chinese nationals returning from abroad.

Counting of votes will be held on Thursday for 51 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha constituencies spread across 18 states where by-elections were held two days ago.

The poll of polls brought out by the NDA gave the BJP and the Congress 66 and 14 seats respectively in Haryana, and 211 and 64 for the saffron alliance and the Congress-NCP in Maharashtra.

Azim and Naushad Shaikh (36) then stitched a 109-run partnership before the latter was trapped leg before by leg-spinner Priyanshu Khanduri.

A round-up of results from the final day of the World Athletics Championships in Doha on Sunday

DMK candidate Kathir Anand defeated All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam nominee AC Shanmugham in the bypoll by a narrow margin of 8,141 votes.

Sixteen deaths in rain and flood-related incidents have been reported from western Maharashtra in the last seven days, while the toll in Karnataka rose to five since Sunday.

'He is a role model for Indian industry.'

Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday

Favourites India demolished hapless Russia 10-0 in their opening match of the FIH Series Finals hockey tournament to start their 2020 Olympics qualification campaign on a rousing note, Bhubaneswar, on Thursday.

Large swathes of the country reeled under heatwave conditions on Tuesday with Churu in Rajasthan recording a high of 48 degree Celsius.

It has been virtually a ten-year wait that's coming to a happy end for the 47-year-old leader, who nurtured the ambition of becoming chief minister soon after his father's death in September 2009.

A Republican-backed measure to fund Trump's border wall failed in a 50-47 vote while Democratic measure that omitted the wall fell short in a 52-44 vote.

Since the temple opened at least 13 women have attempted to enter the shrine, but fallen short despite their valiant attempts.

'India does not wish to remain silent in improving its strategic space so that its leverage to counter China's expansionist designs is maintained, besides enabling it to play a responsible role from a position of strength for peace and stability in Asia,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.

Only on Wednesday, in his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Modi said he wants to resolve the Kashmir issue through Vajpayee's doctrine of "Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat" - a testimony to the former PM's lasting legacy.

After ten minutes no one could keep track of the legal team's questions on the geography of the route Sandeep Patil took on his Pulsar Bajaj motorcycle, on the morning of April 25, 2012. Not the judge. Or the onlookers. Least of all Patil.

The list of Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's admirers has grown with reigning World champion Johannes Vetter predicting a bright future for the Commonwealth Games gold medallist.

Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra shattered his own national record by clearing a distance of 87.43m en route finishing fourth in a star-studded field in the season opening Diamond League series meeting, in Doha, on Friday.

'Ultimately, you are treated according to the stars on your shoulder.' 'Not as a man, not as a woman, not as a girl,' says Assistant Commandant Tanu Shree Pareek.

Is it just the glamour?

It's time to eat, drink and be merry.

A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.'

Petrol prices on Thursday crossed Rs 73 a litre mark, the highest level since the BJP government came to power in 2014, while diesel touched a record high of Rs 64.11 a litre.

The budgeted indirect tax collection target is Rs 9.26 trillion, and the Centre has collected around Rs 5 trillion in the first 8 months. So it needs another Rs 4.2 trn in the last four months