The Japanese government plans to double the target for private-sector investment in India to 10 trillion yen ($68 billion) over the next 10 years, according to a media report from Tokyo.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to confirm the new target during their meeting in Tokyo on August 29, according to a report.

This plan will expand upon Japan's current goal of investing 5 trillion yen over five years, which was announced in March 2022 by then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his visit to India

With just 10 days left for the window on claims and objections to close, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday said that while 84,305 applications have been received from voters in Bihar for inclusion or deletion of names in the draft rolls, only two objections have come from political parties.

Of the total applications, 6,092 have already been disposed of by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). The claims and objections window, opened on August 1, will remain active till September 1.

The ECI said that the CPI(ML) Liberation is the only party to have filed objections so far, with two complaints with regard to draft rolls. It emphasised that despite repeated appeals, political parties have not actively engaged in the revision exercise.

Since August 1, as many as 2,63,257 new electors, who turned 18 after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), have applied for inclusion in the rolls.

Four days after capturing her maiden LPGA Tour title at the Portland Classic, Japanese rookie Akie Iwai picked up where she left off on Thursday, carding a seven-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead in the opening round of the Canadian Women's Open.

The 23-year-old was flawless in opening with a bogey-free round at Mississauga Golf and Country Club, a course located 26 kilometres west of downtown Toronto.

Aphrodite Deng Tiexin, a 15-year-old Chinese-Canadian ranked 22nd in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, shot five-under 66 to sit equal second with American Megan Khang, Mexican Gaby Lopez, Ireland's Leona Maguire and Thai Jeeno Thitikul, who ended Nelly Korda's 71-week run at the top of the world rankings earlier this month, reports.

No. 3 seed Aoi Ito and fast-rising Janice Tjen set up an all-Asian matchup in the final round of US Open qualifying for a berth in the main draw.

Japanese 21-year-old Ito, who has scored upsets over Jasmine Paolini and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova this summer, came through a see-saw contest over Spain's Guiomar Maristany Zuleta De Reales 6-0, 1-6, 6-1.

Meanwhile, Tjen of Indonesia notched her 99th match win since graduating last May with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Poland's Maja Chwalinska, coming from 5-3 down and saving two set points in the first set.

Nick Kelly and Joe Carter have been named captains of a youthful New Zealand A side for their upcoming tour of South Africa this month, where the team will feature in three one-day games followed by two four-day encounters

The squad features an impressive mix of current and rising stars, headlined by recent Blackcaps Muhammad Abbas, Zak Foulkes, Mitch Hay, Bevon Jacobs and Rhys Mariu.

All-rounder Foulkes recently earned his first taste of Test cricket in Zimbabwe, with the whippy right-armer returning the best bowling figures on Test debut for a New Zealander with nine for 75.

Abbas made a blockbuster entrance to international cricket in March when he announced himself with 52 off 26 balls against Pakistan in an ODI at McLean Park, breaking the world record for the fastest half-century on ODI debut.

The government here on Friday unveiled a plan to allocate a record-breaking 35.3 trillion won ($25.1 billion) for research and development (R&D) projects in 2026 in a move to enhance productivity and develop new growth engines.

The decision was reached at a meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology chaired by President Lee Jae Myung, with details set to be submitted to the National Assembly in the near future.

The amount, the highest of its kind, marks a 19.3 percent spike from this year's 29.6 trillion-won R&D budget, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT, reports news agency.

Of the total, 2.3 trillion won will be spent on pursing "transformation of the economy and society through artificial intelligence (AI) technology," which is more than double from 2025.

Famous Punjabi actor and comedian Jaswinder Bhalla, who ruled hearts for decades as the ‘comedy king’ with social satire and cultural commentary, passed away on Friday in a private hospital in Mohali at the age of 65.

Popular as Chacha Chatra, Bhalla’s last rites will be performed on Saturday at the Balongi Cremation Ground in Mohali, near here, said the family.

The veteran actor had been ill for a long time.

He would be remembered for his comic roles in the Punjabi film industry.

Jaswinder Bhalla was known for his roles in Punjabi films like ‘Carry On Jatta’, ‘Mahaul Theek Hai’, ‘Jatt Airways’ and 'Jatt & Juliet 2’.

Nottingham Forest have signed Douglas Luiz from Juventus on an initial season-long loan, with a conditional obligation to become a permanent deal next summer, the Premier League club said.

After one year in Italy's Serie A, Luiz returned to England, where he had spent five years at Aston Villa, bringing a wealth of experience to Forest having played in the Champions League for Juventus during his spell in Turin.

On signing the deal, Luiz said, “I am really happy to be here, it’s a big Club and I decided to come here because I can see the ambition the Club has. I am so excited to start with the team and give my best for the shirt and the fans.”

One of the three criminals who fired indiscriminately at the house of controversial YouTuber and Bigg Boss OTT winner Elvish Yadav in Gurugram last week, was arrested after a police encounter in Faridabad on Friday morning.

The man who has been identified as Ishant Gandhi, fired over half-a-dozen rounds at the Faridabad Crime Branch team with an automatic pistol, forcing the police to fire back at him in retaliation.

Ishant Gandhi was shot in the leg by the cops and subsequently arrested. Later he was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

According to police, Ishant Gandhi is a resident of Jawahar Colony in Faridabad, and the police are interrogating him to find out about the other men who accompanied him during the shooting, and to determine which criminal syndicate the three shooters belong to.

The Indian benchmark indices began the Friday morning session in the red zone, following a week-long rally, amid mixed global cues.

The BSE Sensex declined 290 points or 0.35 per cent to 81,709. Nifty 50 slipped 93 points or 0.37 per cent to 24,990 points.

Broader markets started the day mixed, as the Nifty midcap 100 index edged up slightly by 0.06 per cent, while Nifty smallcap index 100 fell by 0.24 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Bank (-0.45 per cent), Nifty IT (-0.27 per cent) ended lower. The FMCG and metal stocks also showed losses. Most of the other indices showed minor gains.