India

India makes historic landing near Moon's south pole

With this, India joins an elite club of countries to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, after the US, the former Soviet Union and China.

The Vikram lander from Chandrayaan-3 successfully touched down as planned at 18:04 local time (12:34 GMT).

Celebrations have broken out across the country, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying "India is now on the Moon".

"We have reached where no other country could. It's a joyous occasion," he added. Mr Modi was watching the event live from South Africa where he is attending the Brics summit.

Almost 50 dead as heavy rains hit Indian state

In one of the deadliest incidents, at least nine people died when a temple collapsed in the state's capital, Shimla.

Officials fear more people may still be trapped beneath the rubble.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods in the hill state.

Hundreds of roads have been closed and parts of the Kalka-Shimla railway have washed away.

Mr Sukha posted on X about a flash flood and cloudburst - a sudden, very heavy fall of rain - that had occurred in other parts of the state, in which 14 people had died.

India, Pakistan evacuate more than 170,000

More than 170,000 people in the two countries were evacuated to safety before the arrival of Cyclone Biparjoy.

Forecasters say it could be the area's worst storm in 25 years and warned it threatens homes and crops in its path.

The cyclone is due to barrel through parts of India's Gujarat state and Sindh province in Pakistan.

Cyclone Biparjoy - meaning "disaster" in Bengali - is forecast to hit the coast near Jakhau port, between Mandvi in Gujarat and Keti Bandar in Sindh.

India official drains entire dam to retrieve phone

It took three days to pump millions of litres of water out of the dam, after Rajesh Vishwas dropped the device while taking a selfie.

By the time it was found, the phone was too water-logged to work.

Vishwas claimed it contained sensitive government data and needed retrieving, but he has been accused of misusing his position.

The food inspector dropped his Samsung phone, worth about 100,000 rupees (NZ$2000), into Kherkatta Dam, in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, on Sunday.

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Indian women protest against child marriage mass arrests

State police have arrested more than 2,400 people since Friday.

This includes husbands and relatives of alleged child brides, as well as priests who officiated the marriages.

BBC reports Opposition leaders have called the drive a "farce", alleging it disproportionately targets Muslims.

But Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says that his government's "war" is against child marriage and doesn't target one community.

Richest 1% own 40.5% of India's wealth, says new Oxfam report

In 2022, the number of billionaires in the country increased to 166 from 102 in 2020, the report said.

Meanwhile, it added that the poor in India "are unable to afford even basic necessities to survive".

BBC reports the charity called on India's finance minister to levy a wealth tax on the ultra-rich to tackle this "obscene" inequality.

India: Missing girl found after nine years recounts ordeal

Pooja went missing on 22 January 2013 when she was seven years old. She says she was picked up from outside her school in Mumbai city in the western Indian state of Maharashtra by a couple who lured her with an ice-cream.

On 4 August, she was found in what is being described as "a miraculous escape". Her mother, Poonam Gaud, says she is over the moon with happiness.

"I had given up hope of ever finding my daughter. But the gods have been kind to me," she says.

England start well in run chase

Chasing 378 for victory, England got off to a flying start before the loss of three quick wickets forced them on to the back foot.

Root, batting on 76, combined with Bairstow in a 150-run stand for the unbroken fourth wicket to put England's chase back on track.

England were 259-3 at stumps needing 119 for a series-levelling victory.

England's highest successful run chase came in 2019 when they reached a 359-run target in an Ashes test against Australia on the back of Stokes's brilliant unbeaten century.

India strike over controversial army hiring plan

Some states shut down the internet and suspended train and bus services on Monday.

Protesters are demanding the rollback of the plan to hire soldiers on a fixed four-year term, saying it would shatter their dreams of a secure job.

They have taken to the streets, blocking roads and torching trains.

Several opposition political parties have given their support to the protests. But the government has refused to cancel the plan, though it has been trying to allay the fears of protesters.

India and Bangladesh floods displace millions and kill dozens

Millions of people have been stranded while emergency workers have struggled to reach those affected.

Forecasters are warning that the flooding is expected to get worse over the next few days.

Some Bangladesh government officials have described the recent flooding as the country's worst since 2004.

Unrelenting rains over the last week have inundated vast swathes of the country's north-east region, exacerbated by run-off from heavy downpours across mountains in neighbouring India.