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Southern University in Louisiana was awarded $600,000 for its "Project Farm to Feminine Hygiene", a bold effort to develop natural alternatives to synthetic sanitary products. Using regenerative cotton, wool, and industrial hemp, the project also planned to launch educational programmes and support local fibre farmers by building a processing facility. But that vision has been cut short. On 7 March, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced on X that she was revoking the funding, claiming the grant was meant to study “menstrual cycles in transgender men.” It wasn’t. The actual documentation mentions transgender people only once—acknowledging that they, too, may menstruate. The single-line reference was enough to trigger a misinformation storm.

Pamban Bridge in Tamil Nadu’s Rameshwaram, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 April, has been declared safe to run trains at 80 kmph for the next 100 years. This assurance comes from MP Singh, director (operations) at Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), the public sector company behind the project. Singh, who is also part of a five-member Expert Committee formed last November to look into safety concerns, said that the panel carefully examined every part of this iconic structure.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In the sprawling suburbs of Bengaluru rises El Dorado, a city of gold in legends but now an upcoming township. For developer Brigade Group which tagged its launch campaign as #StrikeGold, the name signals the rich potential of the project, the largest in the city's Bagalur special economic zone.

Karnataka police apprehended a six-member gang responsible for the daring robbery at the Nyamati branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) in Davangere, from which 17.7 kg of gold was stolen. The heist, which took place on October 28, 2024, had left authorities puzzled for months. However, a series of coordinated operations and cross-state investigations led to the breakthrough. The stolen gold was recovered from a well in Usalampatti town in Tamil Nadu's Madurai district, a crucial find that brought the investigation one step closer to unmasking the perpetrators. According to the police, the suspects have been identified as Vijaykumar (30), his brother Ajaykumar (28), Abhisheka (23), Chandru (23), Manjunath (32), and Paramananda (30). The group comprised both locals from Nyamati and individuals with ties to Tamil Nadu. «Vijaykumar and Ajaykumar are brothers, while Paramananda is their brother-in-law. All three are originally from Tamil Nadu but have lived in Nyamati, where they ran a sweets business for many years,» the police revealed. The other three accused—Abhisheka, Chandru, and Manjunath—hail from Nyamati, a small town in Karnataka.

Khaitan Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd.(up 5.47%), Rama Phosphates Ltd.(up 4.22%), Paradeep Phosphates Ltd.(up 3.88%), Krishana Phoschem Ltd.(up 3.62%), Agro Phos India Ltd.(up 3.18%), Madras Fertilizers Ltd.(up 3.02%), Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation Ltd.(up 2.25%), Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd.(up 2.23%), Madhya Bharat Agro Products Ltd.(up 2.18%) and Gujarat State Fertilizer & Chemicals Ltd.(up 1.92%) were among the top gainers.

The United States sanctioned six Chinese and Hong Kong officials who it alleged were involved in “transnational repression” and acts that threaten to further erode the southern Chinese city’s autonomy

White House is to be cut down. US President Donald Trump has planned to take down the historic Southern Magnolia tree at the White House, which was said to have been planted by Andrew Jackson, as per reports. The tree, which has lasted for generations, will be replaced by another one. The wood will be saved for historical use, but the decision has received varied reactions. Folklore states that Andrew Jackson planted two trees in memory of his late wife, Rachel.

Stephen Fleming stoutly countered the criticism that his team's brand of cricket was getting outdated, saying the team had enough «firepower» and no one should make the mistake of discounting them. Five-time IPL champions CSK lost to RCB by 50 runs, unable to chase a steep 196/7 set by Rajat Patidar's side on Friday. CSK's defeat to RCB in the 'Southern Derby' in their own den was their first since the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008 and it was also their biggest reversal at home thus far. In response to a question if his brand of cricket was getting outdated, the former New Zealand skipper shot back, «What do you mean, my way of playing (cricket)? Like winning the first game, that's a good way to play. We've got firepower all the way through. I don't understand this question.» «Just because we don't swing (the bat) from ball one and have a little bit of luck go our way, we'll see at the end,» said the New Zealander after his team was restricted to 146/8 in 20 overs. The 51-year-added that CSK should not be «discounted» just because they had lost one match.

In India, the Himalayas are most prone to earthquakes. Experts have highlighted the possibility of a 'Great Himalayan Earthquake'. Any major seismic activity in the region always brings to fore this vulnerability. The impact of such a large earthquake of magnitude of 8 or above can also impact the National Capital Region of Delhi. A matter of 'when' not 'if' American geophysicist Roger Bilham has warned that the Himalayas are the only place in the world where a large quake can occur on land. «India slides 2m beneath the southern edge of Tibet every century. Unfortunately, its northern edge does not slide smoothly but is hung-up (by friction) for hundreds of years and catches up in minutes when this friction is overcome. The slip events, which we call earthquakes, are the inevitable and unavoidable consequence of this motion,» Bilham had told TOI in an interview in 2020. Bilham has explained why the Great Himalayan Earthquake is inevitable even though experts can't say exactly when it can happen. «Great earthquakes with magnitudes exceeding 8 on the Richter scale have been occurring in the Himalayas every few hundred years. We have geological evidence that earthquakes as large as M=8.7 have occurred many times in the past 2,000 years. However, no magnitude 8 earthquakes have occurred in the past 70 years to release the pressure in the Himalayan arc. Two or more regions of the Himalayas must soon rupture in a great earthquake. It is not a matter of “possibly”. They must occur. Unfortunately, scientists are unable to offer any insight into their precise timing,» Bilham had told TOI.

Elon Musk's X for wrongly labelling as a «censorship portal» an official website that allows tech companies to be notified about harmful online content, court papers reviewed by Reuters showed on Friday. The lawsuit marks an escalation in a legal dispute between X and the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over how it orders content to be taken down, at a time when Musk nears the launch in India of his other key ventures, Starlink and Tesla. The comments came in a rejoinder to X's new lawsuit filed on March 5 in the southern state of Karnataka seeking to quash the government's website initiative.

BEIJING — In the latest step toward building a revenue-generating robotaxi business, Chinese start-up Pony.ai said it has obtained China's first permit to charge fares for fully driverless taxis in core parts of a business district of Shenzhen.

Amazon and Flipkart this month, seizing items that did not meet quality control standards, as it increased its scrutiny of the two firms. Last week, the Bureau of Indian Standards conducted similar searches at the companies' warehouses in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, saying they stored, sold, and exhibited items that did not have a required standards label. Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart have said they comply with local laws. They did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the Delhi raids.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. TEN years and a lifetime ago, Binyamin Netanyahu offered a stark vision of the future. Israel’s prime minister told a parliamentary committee that there could never be peace with the Palestinians.

This marks legendary player Messi's return to subcontinent after 14 years. Notably, in November last year, Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman had announced the news of Argentina visiting the southern state and playing two friendly matches in Kochi. The visit comes as part of a newly announced partnership between the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and HSBC, covering India and Singapore. The one-year agreement, signed ahead of Argentina’s 2026 World Cup qualification final matches, makes HSBC the official banking partner of the Argentina National Team in both countries. As part of the deal, HSBC will hold branding and activation rights while offering its customers exclusive benefits such as match tickets, fan experiences, and meet-and-greet opportunities with Argentine football stars.

Bohra Industries Ltd.(up 2.00%), Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd.(up 1.14%) and Aries Agro Ltd.(up 0.59%) stood among the top gainers.

Ukraine with Washington eyeing a separate Black Sea maritime ceasefire deal before securing a wider agreement. The talks, which followed U.S. negotiations with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, come as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his drive to end the three-year-old conflict after he last week spoke to both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Here are some of the issues that Russia, the U.S. and Ukraine are discussing:

Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza killed a Hamas political leader, Salah al-Bardaweel, on Sunday, the militant group said, as Palestinian officials put the death toll from nearly 18 months of conflict at over 50,000. After two months of relative calm in the war, Gazans have again been fleeing for their lives after Israel effectively abandoned a ceasefire, launching a new all-out air and ground campaign on Tuesday against Hamas. Explosions echoed throughout the north, central and southern Gaza Strip early on Sunday, as Israeli planes hit several targets in those areas in what witnesses said was an escalation of the attacks that began earlier in the week. At least 30 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli strikes on Rafah and Khan Younis so far on Sunday, health authorities said. Those killed included three municipal employees, medics said. Hamas said the airstrike on Khan Younis killed Bardaweel and his wife. Israeli officials had no immediate comment.

Israeli strike killed a senior Hamas political leader in the Gaza Strip overnight, the militant group said early Sunday. Iran-backed rebels in Yemen who are allied with Hamas meanwhile launched another missile at Israel, setting off air raid sirens.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it instructed the army to respond forcefully against dozens of targets in Lebanon, where the Iran-backed Hezbollah is based. Israel's army said six rockets were fired toward Metula, a town along the border with Lebanon. Three crossed into Israel and were intercepted. The army said it «cannot confirm the identity of the organisation that fired the rockets.» It said it struck Hezbollah command centres and dozens of rocket launchers. An Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese village of Touline killed five people, including a child, and wounded 10 others, including two children, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. Another Israeli strike Saturday night hit a garage in the coastal city of Tyre, the NNA reported, with one person killed and seven wounded. It was the first attack on the city since the ceasefire took effect November 27. And a strike on Hawsh al-Sayed Ali village along the border with Syria wounded five people, according to the NNA.

Name cards of the political dignitaries were displayed in both English and their respective regional languages. While Stalin addressed the gathering in Tamil, Kanimozhi and Udhayanidhi spoke in English, and Kerala and Telangana CMs also spoke in English. «Delimitation will affect states that have successfully implemented family planning. We are not against delimitation; we are demanding a fair delimitation,» Stalin said. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said the delimitation exercise was «hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles.» He added that the exercise would disproportionately benefit northern states, where the BJP has greater influence. Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar too said that the proposed delimitation would be a political assault on southern states. He added that when Karnataka and Tamil Nadu stood together, no power could break the states. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann claimed that the BJP's aim is to reduce parliamentary seats of states where the party is losing and to increase it in states where it is winning.