The fast-unto-death protest of seven junior doctors at Esplanade in Kolkata, over the rape and murder of their colleague in the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College Hospital entered the fourth day on Tuesday.

With Tuesday coinciding with Maha Panchami, the doctors -- both seniors and juniors -- have decided to mark the day with a variety of protest programmes throughout the day.

While the seven junior doctors are continuing with their fast-unto-death protests at Esplanade in central Kolkata, the junior doctors throughout the state have started a token hunger strike for 12 hours from 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

At least seven miners were killed and seven others injured in a severe blast at a coal mine, owned by a private entity, at Khayrasole in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Monday afternoon, officials said.

The local administration suspects that more miners are likely to be trapped within the mines after landslides due to the blast.

Eyewitnesses said that the bodies of some of the killed were blown into pieces in the blast.

As per the latest information available, the injured miners, many of whose conditions are extremely critical, have been shifted to a local hospital for treatment there.

Denying "unfounded rumours" of ill health, industrialist Ratan Tata on Monday said he was in "good spirits".

His comments came as several media reports claimed that the 86-year-old was rushed to a hospital and was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) after his blood pressure dropped.

Denying the reports, the former Tata Sons Group Chairman said the visit was part of a routine check-up due to his age.

He said: "Thank you for thinking of me."

"I am aware of recent rumours circulating regarding my health and want to assure everyone that these claims are unfounded," Tata wrote in a post on social media platform X.

A 24-year-old Agniveer has died after a fire extinguisher gas cylinder exploded during a mock drill in Rajasthan's Bharatpur district, officials said on Saturday.

The accident took place on Friday noon near Golpura Army area of Sevar police station, officials confirmed.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Vijay Kumar of Sevar police station said, "In the mock drill during the training camp in Bharatpur, Jawan Saurabh threw the fire extinguisher cylinder upside down on the ground while practicing fire extinguishing. Soon, there was a loud explosion and the cylinder exploded. Pieces of the cylinder hit the Jawan's chest. The officer and fellow soldiers took him to Jindal Hospital in Bharatpur in critical condition. The Jawan's father Rakesh Pal was informed about the incident. Saurabh died during treatment at 8 p.m. The body was brought to the mortuary of RBM District Hospital at 10 p.m. The post-mortem was done on Saturday in the presence of the father and other family members."

Eight tankers of alleged adulterated ghee which arrived at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) in June and July this year for making laddu prasadam had not originated from the Tamil Nadu-based supplier who was given the contract, reveals a confidential document.

Records of the Commercial Taxes Department of Andhra Pradesh show that all eight trucks received from supplier A.R. Dairy Food Private Limited, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu did not originate in their dairy.

Based on e-invoices, e-way bills and tanker transport documents, the department found that all eight vehicles originated from Vaishnavi Dairy Speciality Private Limited, Tirupati, and travelled to Dindigul and then round-tripped to TTD. This was a violation of tender conditions as trading of ghee was not allowed.

The e-invoices indicate that the same vehicles from Vaishnavi to AR Diary were diverted to TTD.

At least 10 people were killed in two separate landslides in mountainous Meghalaya's Garo Hills which witnessed heavy rains since Friday midnight, officials said on Saturday, adding that the heavy downpour and landslides badly affected all five districts in the region.

A Meghalaya government official said that seven persons were confirmed dead in Hatiasia Songma village under the South Garo Hills district.

All the seven, including three women, were buried under a landslide.

The official said that 3 more villagers have lost their lives in Dalu of West Garo Hills, where the incessant rains since Friday midnight have led to a flood in both hills and plain areas.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted a series of raids, including one in Mustafabad, a northeastern area of the national Capital and recovered suspicious materials.

The operation was carried out with the involvement of the Delhi Police's Special Cell and local police. According to sources, suspicious materials were recovered during the raid, and notices have been issued to certain individuals, with as many as two people being detained for questioning. The raid concluded on Saturday morning.

This action is part of the NIA's investigation under case RC-13/24/NIA/DLI, targeting the nationwide network of the terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). As part of this crackdown, raids are being conducted at 22 locations across five states in the country.

Two terrorists were killed on Saturday as the alert troops of the army foiled an infiltration bid at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kupwara district.

Officials said that two unidentified terrorists were killed by the army in the Gugaldhar area of Kupwara district when an infiltration bid from across the LoC was foiled by them.

Srinagar headquartered 15 Corps of the army posted on its X: “Two terrorists have been eliminated by the security forces in the ongoing Operation GUGALDHAR. War-like stores have been recovered. Search of the area is underway and Operation is in progress.”

Anti-terrorism and anti-infiltration operations in the hinterland and along the LoC were increased to ensure the smooth conduct of the legislative Assembly elections in J&K.

A mild earthquake, measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale, was felt in the Manipur-Nagaland border area on Friday, officials said.

A Manipur disaster management official said that the quake was felt in the state's northern Ukhrul district and adjoining Nagaland. The mountainous district also shares a border with Myanmar.

According to the officials, there has been no report of any casualty of life or damage to property due to the quake.

Ukhrul was recently wracked by violence when residents of two Naga villages clashed over a boundary dispute, leaving four people dead and over two dozen injured.

According to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), the quake struck at a depth of 30 km from the surface. At least one state in the mountainous northeastern region experiences earthquakes every week with most of the tremors varying measuring 3 to 4 on the Richter scale. Successive earthquakes, mostly mild to moderate, in the mountainous northeastern states, especially in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur, have kept the authorities worried, forcing the public and private builders to build quake-proof structures.

Two soldiers were injured in a mine blast near the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K's Kupwara district on Friday, officials said.

The incident occurred at around 3 a.m. when the soldiers were on patrol along the LoC, and the injured soldiers were identified as a havaldar and a naik of 19 Sikh.

"The injured soldiers were immediately shifted to hospital for treatment. Doctors said both the injured soldiers are stable," an official said.

It was only on Thursday that the Srinagar-headquartered 15 Corps' outgoing commander, Lt General Rajiv Ghai told reporters that in order to sustain the prevailing peace in Kashmir, there should be no reduction in the number of troops deployed to guard the LoC and those deputed for anti-terrorism operations.