North Korea lambasted South Korea and the United States on Saturday for staging a joint air exercise, accusing Washington of driving the Korean Peninsula into an "uncontrollable" situation.

The Freedom Flag exercise kicked off this week to run through next Friday, with the air forces of South Korea and the US, as well as Australia, participating, news agency reporting.

The two-week joint drill, which is taking place for the first time, replaces regular large-scale air exercises between South Korea and the US -- Korea Flying Training in the first half of the year and Vigilant Defense in the second half.

ICICI Bank on Saturday reported a 14.5 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 11,746 crore (year-on-year) in Q2 FY25, from Rs 10,261 crore in the year-ago quarter.

The private sector lender’s net interest income (NII) increased by 9.5 per cent to Rs 20,048 crore, in Q2 2025 from Rs 18,308 crore in the same quarter last year.

Average deposits grew by 15.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 14,28,095 crore (as on September 30). Net NPA ratio was 0.42 per cent at September 30, compared to 0.43 per cent at June 30, the bank said in its financial results. The net additions to gross NPAs, excluding write-offs and sales, were Rs 1,754 crore in Q2 2025 compared to Rs 2,624 crore in Q1 2025.

The United Nations humanitarian agency said that severe flooding caused by heavy rains pounding several parts of South Sudan has affected more than 1.3 million people.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Friday said in an update released in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, that the floods have so far displaced about 327,000 people in 42 counties and the Abyei Administrative Area.

"Joint government and interagency assessments in the last week found an additional 230,000 people in Jonglei, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile states to be affected," OCHA said, noting that heavy rainfall and flooding have rendered 15 major supply routes impassable, significantly restricting access to affected areas.

Two people have died of cholera in the eastern part of Ghana's capital of Accra, authorities said.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS), a public service body, on Friday confirmed the outbreak of this acute diarrhoeal disease in the Ada East and West districts within the Greater Accra Region, with a total of 43 cases having been reported so far.

The health authorities have mobilised resources to contain the situation to avert more fatalities, according to GHS.

According to the World Health Organization, cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, news agency reported.

Silver could either match or outperform gold in the medium to long term, and is likely to reach Rs 1,25,000 per kg on MCX and $40 on COMEX in the next 12 to 15 months, a report showed on Saturday.

Recently, silver has shown impressive performance, gaining more than 40 per cent (year-to-date) and breaching Rs 100,000 on the domestic front, fuelled by safe-haven buying and robust industrial demand, according to the report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd (MOFSL).

MOFSL has also set targets for gold of Rs 81,000 in the medium term and Rs 86,000 in the long term. It expects gold to reach $2,830 on COMEX in the medium term and $3,000 in the long term.

Three people were dead after two light planes collided in mid-air before crashing in Sydney's southwest on Saturday.

Emergency crews were called to Belimbla Park, approximately 65 kilometres southwest of central Sydney, just before midday local time following reports that two aircraft had collided and crashed, reports news agency.

Police in the state of New South Wales (NSW) confirmed on Saturday afternoon that three men were found dead at the scene.

Two crime scenes in close proximity were established at the sites where the two planes crashed into the ground.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that one of the planes burst into flames on impact.

Japanese prosecutors have asked for a seven-year prison term for a US serviceman charged with kidnapping and raping an underage girl in Okinawa Prefecture, local media reported.

In their closing arguments at Naha District Court on Friday, public prosecutors said security camera footage and other evidence indicated that the defendant, Brennon Washington, 25, who belongs to the US Air Force's Kadena base in the island prefecture, knew the girl was under the age of 16, news agency reported.

According to the indictment dated March 27, the US Air Force member allegedly invited the girl to speak to him in his car at a park in the village of Yomitan on December 24, 2023, and drove her to his residence before committing indecent acts such as kissing and touching the lower half of the girl's body with the knowledge that she was under 16.

Saudi Arabia on Saturday expressed its "condemnation and denunciation" of the Israeli military's action of targeting Iran, which it said is a violation of Tehran's sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norms.

"The Kingdom affirms its unwavering position in its rejection of the continued escalation in the region and the expansion of the conflict that threatens the security and stability of the countries and people of the region.

The Kingdom urges all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and reduce escalation, and warns of the consequences of continuing military conflicts in the region," read a statement issued by the Saudi foreign ministry.

It called on the international community and influential and active parties to carry out their roles and responsibilities towards reducing escalation and ending the conflicts in the region.

Four people were burnt alive after their rented room caught fire due to an electric short circuit in the Saraswati Enclave area of Gurugram late at night, police said on Saturday.

The deceased have been identified as Noor Alam (27), Sahil (22), Aman (17) and Mohammad Mushtaq (22), all natives of Bihar.

Preliminary investigation suggests that the fire first erupted in an electric appliance in the room and later, it spread in the entire room situated on the first floor of a four-story building.

The total number of broadband subscribers in India increased from 946.19 million in July to 949.21 million at the end of August, a monthly growth rate of 0.32 per cent, according to the government data on Saturday.

Total wireless subscribers decreased from 1,169.61 million at the end of July to 1,163.83 million at the end of August, thereby registering a monthly decline rate of 0.49 per cent, according to a Ministry of Communications statement.

Wireless subscription in urban areas decreased from 635.46 million to 633.21 million and wireless subscription in rural areas also decreased from 534.15 million to 530.63 million during the same period.

Monthly decline rate of urban and rural wireless subscription was 0.35 per cent and 0.66 per cent, respectively.