Birth defects claim the lives of about 300 children under five years of age, every day in the South-East Asia region, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday, ahead of World Birth Defects Day.

World Birth Defects Day is marked every year on March 3. It aims to raise awareness about prevention programmes and improve the quality of services and care received by people with congenital anomalies, disorders, or conditions.

“During the past two decades, the contribution of birth defects to the cause of death among under-5 children has increased from 3.9 per cent to 11.5 per cent in our region,” said Saima Wazed, Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia, in a statement.

The confluence of a favourable fiscal policy that supports both capex and consumption and easing monetary policy across all its levers — rates, liquidity and regulations and robust services exports – that augur well for the job market outlook are likely to aid the growth momentum for India, a Morgan Stanley report has said.

The GDP print for December quarter “reaffirms our view that growth is in recovery mode, after having bottomed out in QE Sep-24”, according to the report.

The high frequency data for January/February suggests a mixed trend with gradual signs of recovery.

While implied March quarter growth is at 7.6 per cent (as per advance estimate), “we believe growth will likely track lower than that at 6.7 per cent”.

“As such, we expect FY25 growth to be 6.3 per cent,” the report estimated.

Based on the fiscal 2025 GDP growth estimate of 6.5 per cent by the government, Q4 growth has been derived at 7.6 per cent, according to a SBI Research report on Saturday.

However, “we expect there will be revision of quarterly numbers in May 2025”, the report mentioned.

Also, real GDP growth rate of 9.2 per cent for 2023-24 is the highest in the previous 12 years, except FY22 growth (9.7 per cent, which is highest since independence), said the report.

The Agrim Club of the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the IPR Cell of Desh Bhagat University, in association with IQAC, Desh Bhagat University, and with the support of the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology, celebrated National Science Day-2025 with great enthusiasm. Prof. (Dr.) H.K. Sidhu formally welcomed the dignitaries and attendees, emphasizing the significance of National Science Day and its theme for 2025—"Empowering Indian Youth for Global Leadership in Science and Innovation for Viksit Bharat."

Two individuals have been taken into custody for allegedly attempting to derail the Doon Express on the Lucknow-Bareilly railway line.

The incident took place under the Pihani Road Overbridge in Hardoi on Saturday.

Unidentified individuals placed an iron net and stones on the railway tracks in an attempt to derail the Doon Express. Fortunately, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Kotwali Dehat Police were alerted in time and arrived at the scene to prevent a possible disaster.

Forensic teams were also called to collect fingerprints and other evidence.

Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkar took to social media to celebrate the 28th anniversary of her hit film “Judaai.”

Released in 1997, the film, directed by Raj Kanwar, remains one of the most memorable romantic dramas in Bollywood. Urmila took to her Instagram stories to commemorate the occasion, sharing her gratitude and reflections on the film that shaped her career. The Rangeela actress reposted a fan edit and wrote, “28 years of #Judai Thank you for your love.” In next follow up post, she shared her photos from the film.

Judaai, produced by Surinder Kapoor and Boney Kapoor was the remake of the Telugu movie "Subalagnam." It starred Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, and Urmila Matondkar. Kader Khan, Farida Jalal, Johnny Lever, Paresh Rawal, Upasana Singh and Saeed Jaffrey feature in supporting roles.

A daylight shooting incident triggered panic on Saturday at the Ambala city court premises in Haryana, as two assailants fired multiple rounds at a youth named Aman, who had come to attend a hearing.

The attackers arrived in a black Scorpio, and without warning, fired two to three shots before quickly fleeing the scene.

According to reports, the police and crime branch teams swiftly responded to the incident. Upon their arrival, they recovered two spent bullet shells and a coin from the site of the attack. Fortunately, there have been no reports of injuries, despite the gunfire in the crowded court area.

Gangster Malkiat, alias Maxi, on Saturday sustained bullet injury while attempting to escape from the police custody near Ghagar bridge on Zirakpur-Ambala Highway in Dera Bassi in Punjab, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here.

The gangster, a resident of Rodala village in Rajasansi Amritsar, is an operative of foreign-based terrorist Goldy Brar and gangster Goldy Dhillon and was running an extortion racket on their behalf.

Recently, Maxi and his accomplice Sandeep, alias Deep, were arrested by the Patiala Police in the Arms Act case.

Subsequently, both were brought on production warrant from the Patiala jail by Mohali Police on Friday in an extortion case wherein the accused had targeted a Mohali-based property dealer and demanded Rs 50 lakh extortion money in January.

Five devotees visiting Male Mahadeshwara Hills were killed in a head-on collision between their car and a truck in Chikkindewadi village of Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district on Saturday.

The deceased were yet to be identified. However, based on the car's registration number, police believe the victims are from the Mandya district.

According to police, all five victims, including two women, were travelling to the popular pilgrimage site of Male Mahadeshwara Hills.

Police suspect that the accident was caused due to overspeeding.

Democratic Party leaders have accused US President Donald Trump of batting for his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the public showdown with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House, on Friday.

Democratic Party’s Senate leader Chuck Schumer said in a scorching post on X, "Trump and [Vice President JD] Vance are doing Putin's dirty work. Senate Democrats will never stop fighting for freedom and democracy".

Former Speaker and Democratic Party's senior leader Nancy Pelosi called the Oval Office confrontation a "shameful display".

"Putin must be overjoyed with today's theatrics", she said on X.