A teenager was killed while over 20 others suffered injuries after a bus they were travelling in collided with a truck in Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district.

The incident occurred early on Monday when the private bus carrying around 30-35 passengers was heading towards Gwalior from Rewa via Chhatarpur.

The bus was hit by a truck on the highway connecting Rewa-Satna and Chhatarpur near Bageshwar Dham trisection, a few km short of Chhatarpur district headquarters.

An eyewitness told police that after getting hit by a truck running at high speed hit the bus, the driver lost control of the bus and it overturned.

"Preliminary inquiry revealed that bus got overturned after it was hit by a truck on the highway connecting Chhatarpur and Satna. Police along with local citizens rescued the passengers and those who were injured were rushed to a nearby hospital," Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Salil Sharma said.

Despite a surge in footfall at shopping malls and discount shops for the festive season, shopkeepers report a decline in sales volume across various stores in Chennai.

R. Janakiraman, a cracker shop owner in Anna Nagar (East), Chennai, told IANS: “The factory price of popular crackers like ‘Kuruvi,’ ‘Chain crackers,’ ‘Knockout,’ and other items has skyrocketed. When we add our profit margin, prices increase substantially, which could be causing the drop in customer numbers.”

According to Janakiraman, the sales volume, which reached Rs 4 to 5 lakh during this period in 2023, has fallen to approximately Rs 3 to 4 lakh this year. He noted that daily sales have decreased by about Rs 1 lakh, with a 15 per cent price increase compared to the previous year.

Terrorists tried to ambush an army vehicle on Monday in Jammu & Kashmir’s Akhnoor area in Jammu district. Subsequently, an encounter started there.

Officials said that terrorists fired at an army vehicle in the Battal area of Akhnoor in Jammu district on Monday morning.

“The ambush attempt by the terrorists failed, after which a cordon operation was started in the area. Firings have now started between the terrorists and the security forces. All exit points of the terrorists have been sealed," officials said.

“Reinforcements have been rushed to the area,” officials added.

Following orders from their handlers across the border, terrorists have increased their activities in J&K following the peaceful, people-participative Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.

Police swung into action and initiated extensive security measures after at least 10 hotels in Gujarat's Rajkot received bomb threats via email.

Authorities deployed bomb squads and dog squads to conduct thorough checks at all affected locations.

The hotels which received bomb threats included the Imperial Palace, Grand Regency, Sayaji Hotel, and Hotel Seasons, among others.

At least six people, three of them from one family, were killed in two separate road accidents in Madhya Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

The first incident occurred in Barwani district where four people, including a father-son duo, lost their lives after a truck overturned on them.

According to police, the incident occurred at the National Highway, under Sendhwa police station, around 60 km from district headquarters Barwani.

While trying to save cattle, the truck driver lost control of the vehicle.

Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha said on Saturday that the security forces have devised a new strategy to deal with the emerging terrorist threat and assured that every drop of innocent blood spilled by terrorists will be avenged.

L-G Sinha made the remarks while addressing the passing out parade of 629 BSF recruits at the Humhama training centre in Budgam district.

He said that the attack on innocent workers in Gagangir and the one in Baramulla district where army soldiers were killed is "highly condemnable".

"India always wants peace with its neighbours, but unfortunately we have a neighbour that always tries to disturb peace in India despite facing ultimate poverty back home," the L-G.

Three people died of electrocution on the waterlogged streets of West Bengal in three different parts of the state since Friday night.

This takes the total number of Cyclone Dana-related casualties in West Bengal to four since Friday, after the cyclone made its landfall in Odisha in the wee hours.

Sources from the state administration said that of the four deaths, three were caused by electrocution in the water-logged streets and one person died after getting tapped in a drain.

Two of the four deaths have been reported from South 24 Parganas district and one each from Kolkata and the city-adjacent Howrah district.

Meanwhile, the state administration has heaved a sigh of relief as the torrential rain that continued in several pockets in South Bengal almost the entire Friday started receding from midnight and has become minimum since Saturday morning.

The apprehensions of Cyclone Dana playing havoc in the coastal Sundarbans area scattered over South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal was allayed to a great extent because of the mangrove belt barrier there which acted as a vital speed breaker and mitigated the impact.

Experts pointed out that the mangrove belt barrier enabled wind reduction, just minimising the impact of the cyclone and also acted as a “storm surge protection” meaning absorption of the wave energy, thus shielding the coastal communities there.

At the same time, according to experts, the mangrove belt barrier acted as the “shoreline stabiliser” where roots holding soil in place prevented erosion.

The barrier also resulted in “carbon sequestration” resulting in absorption of carbon dioxide thus mitigating climate change.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has approved 'Gujarat Inland Vessels Registration, Survey, and Operation Rules 2024', reaffirming the state government's commitment to improving safety in boating and water sports activities.

These regulations were designed to ensure the safety of smaller vessels.

The rules would apply to pleasure crafts, boats, and vessels measuring less than 10 metres long.

The draft of these rules was prepared in June 2024 and made available for public feedback, allowing citizens to voice their objections and suggestions.

Following a thorough feedback review, the Chief Minister has directed the Port and Transport Department to finalise the rules. Individuals wishing to register vessels under the new regulations must submit applications to their respective district authorities.

Key features of the new rules were: periodic Inspections, enforcement measures and operator responsibilities.

One soldier injured in a terrorist attack on an Army vehicle on Thursday in Botapathri area of J&K’s Gulmarg succumbed to his injuries in the hospital on Friday, taking the toll in the terrorist attack to five.

Officials said a soldier injured in Thursday’s terrorist attack on a vehicle of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) in Nagin Chowk of Botapathri area of Gulmarg, succumbed in the hospital on Friday.

In view of the recent attacks in J&K, Lieutenant Governor (LG), Manoj Sinha chaired a Unified Headquarters Meeting (UHQ) here on Thursday to review the security situation in the UT.