Bengal Pilgrim Group of 33 Goes Missing in Nepal After One Member's Visa Denied

A group of 33 pilgrims from West Bengal has gone missing in Nepal, where they had traveled as part of a religious pilgrimage. One woman from the group was left behind after her Chinese visa was rejected, which inadvertently kept her safe. The rest of the group proceeded with the journey without her. Authorities are currently investigating the whereabouts of the missing pilgrims. The incident has raised concerns about the safety of pilgrimage groups traveling through the Himalayan region.

A decades-old friendship, two tea families and the making of India’s first commercial matcha

India finish 5th in WTC standings after drawing Colombo Test, winning series 1-0

India and Sri Lanka played out a draw in the second Test in Colombo, giving India a 1-0 series victory following their win in Galle. India controlled the first innings but were unable to secure a result after Sri Lanka mounted a strong second-innings comeback. The drawn result left India fifth in the World Test Championship standings. India currently hold 68 points with a points percentage of 51.52%.

BJP's Ram Madhav Says Gen Z Forms the Largest Group Within RSS

BJP Vice President Ram Madhav made a notable claim about the demographic composition of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He stated that the so-called Gen Z generation actually constitutes the largest segment within the RSS. Madhav cautioned against treating Gen Z as a uniform or monolithic group, suggesting the generation holds diverse views. His remarks challenge popular narratives that portray younger generations as uniformly distanced from traditional or right-leaning organisations.

Assam CM Flags New Myanmar Drug Route as State Intensifies Narcotics Crackdown

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has raised alarm over an emerging drug trafficking route originating from Myanmar. The Chief Minister described the development as deeply concerning for the state's security and public health. Assam authorities have responded by stepping up their anti-narcotics operations in recent weeks. The intensified crackdown has resulted in the seizure of significant quantities of drugs across the state.

Georgia deputy arrested over Flock misuse

Nepal Ex-Minister Gyawali Warns Against Violent Political Change as Precedent

Former Nepalese minister Pradeep Gyawali has expressed deep concern over the violent nature of the recent movement that led to government change in Nepal. Gyawali stated that such a violent path to political change was not anticipated and caught him off guard. He warned that if this approach becomes a precedent, it could prove highly damaging to Nepal's political future. The former minister's remarks come in the context of a Gen Z-led movement that contributed to the shift in government.

Sri Lanka save Colombo Test after follow-on, end winless streak against India

Sri Lanka have achieved a historic feat by saving a Test match in Colombo after being asked to follow on. It was only the fourth time in their history that Sri Lanka had avoided defeat in such a situation. Prior to this match, they had lost all eight Tests against India in which the follow-on had been enforced. Overall, Sri Lanka had lost 24 of their previous 27 Tests after following on, making the Colombo result a remarkable turnaround.

GCCs Overtake Traditional IT Firms in India Tech Hiring Race

Global Capability Centres (GCCs), the specialised offshore units of multinational corporations, are hiring technology talent at a faster pace than traditional Indian IT companies. This shift marks a significant change in the country's technology employment landscape. GCCs are increasingly positioning themselves as major destinations for skilled tech professionals in India. The trend indicates that these offshore units are becoming a dominant force in driving technology recruitment across the country.

Babar Azam returns as Pakistan opt to bowl in second Test against England

Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl in the second Test against England. Captain Babar Azam returned to the side, replacing stand-in skipper Salman Agha in the only change to the Pakistani lineup. The first Test of the series was won by England. Both teams are otherwise unchanged from the previous match.

Colombo Test draw dents India's World Test Championship final hopes

India failed to secure a win in the Colombo Test against Sri Lanka, settling for a draw that has significantly damaged their World Test Championship final prospects. Sri Lanka's lower-order batters mounted a remarkable resistance to deny India a victory they had largely dominated. Sonal Dinusha starred with an unbeaten 133, capping an outstanding series for the young batter. India's inability to dismiss the tail, combined with what critics described as flat tactics, proved costly. The result leaves India with virtually no room for error in their remaining WTC matches.

Dev Blog Series Season 6 to Tackle Compliance and Governance Head-On

Season 6 of 'The Adventures of Blink' on DEV Community is set to launch next week, focusing on compliance and governance from a developer's perspective. The series will use NIST 800-53, specifically control CM-3, as a practical case study to break down, analyze, and reinterpret audit controls. The author aims to bridge the communication gap between development teams and compliance or governance teams by offering actionable insights rather than criticism. Each installment will cover common mistakes in applying controls and explore ways to ensure compliance without creating unnecessary friction. Readers from both developer and compliance backgrounds are encouraged to participate actively in the ongoing discussion.

52 km, 5,630 metres, half the oxygen: Why the Kailash yatra is an ordeal

Samsung unveils 1,100Hz Odyssey G6 and new OLED gaming monitors at Gamescom

Samsung announced its updated Odyssey gaming monitor lineup at Gamescom, highlighting several displays it claims feature world-first innovations. The 27-inch Odyssey G6 G60H, first revealed in December, has been upgraded to a 1,100Hz refresh rate, slightly surpassing the 1,040Hz figure disclosed at CES 2026. The monitor retains its dual-mode design with an IPS panel and 1ms response time. Samsung also previewed new OLED versions of the Odyssey G9, G8, and G7, all slated for 2027. The announcements position Samsung as a leader in high-refresh-rate gaming display technology.

What AI Agents Are and How They Work: A Practical Breakdown

AI agents represent a significant evolution in software development, moving beyond step-by-step instructions to goal-driven autonomous execution. Unlike a standalone large language model that only generates text, an agent wraps the model in a continuous loop and equips it with tools such as APIs, databases, and browsers to take real-world actions. The core cycle — perceive, plan, act, observe, and repeat — allows the agent to recover from errors and chain multiple steps toward completing complex tasks. Every functional agent relies on four key components: a reasoning model, callable tools, memory for context retention, and an orchestration layer that enforces limits and stopping conditions. For larger workflows, multiple specialized agents can be coordinated by an orchestrator, though experts recommend starting with a single agent before splitting responsibilities.

Ex-Union Minister Mukul Roy's Daughter-in-Law Goes Missing in Flood-Hit Nepal

Sarmistha Bhowmik Roy, daughter-in-law of former Union Minister Mukul Roy, has gone missing in flood-affected Nepal. She is a resident of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. Her family lost all contact with her after the night of August 25. The disappearance comes amid severe flooding that has struck Nepal, raising concerns about her safety.

Mirae Asset Plans $109B Crypto Push After Acquiring Digital X

Mirae Asset Financial Group has acquired Digital X, the company formerly known as South Korean crypto exchange Korbit. Founder Park Hyeon-joo unveiled an ambitious digital asset strategy at an internal employee event. The plan centers on expanding into stablecoins, real-world assets (RWAs), and security token offerings (STOs). Park envisions building the acquired platform into a $109 billion cryptocurrency business. The announcement signals Mirae Asset's serious intent to become a major player in the digital finance space.

RAG Chunking: Why Splitting Documents the Right Way Makes AI Smarter

Chunking is the process of breaking large documents into smaller, meaningful pieces before feeding them into a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system. Rather than passing an entire document to an AI, chunking allows the retrieval system to surface only the most relevant section in response to a user query. The strategy behind chunking matters significantly — chunks that are too large introduce noise, while chunks that are too small can fragment meaning and lose context. Because chunking directly shapes the embeddings stored in a vector database, it ultimately determines what information an LLM receives when generating an answer. Choosing the right chunk size and overlap is therefore a core retrieval design decision, not just a text-splitting technicality.

OpenAI to introduce ads on ChatGPT free and Go tiers in India

OpenAI is set to begin displaying advertisements on ChatGPT's free and Go subscription tiers in India. The move targets a massive user base, with the platform reporting over 100 million weekly active users in the country. A significant portion of these users access ChatGPT through the free or lower-priced Go plans. The ad rollout appears to be a strategy to generate revenue from users who do not pay full subscription prices.

Kyoto to relocate bamboo grove after tourists vandalise 350 stalks

Kyoto's iconic Arashiyama Bamboo Grove has suffered significant damage due to tourists carving names and text into its stalks. A city inspection conducted since spring 2025 identified approximately 350 vandalized bamboo plants. In response, local officials have announced plans to cut around 30 square metres of damaged bamboo as a preservation measure. Authorities also intend to relocate the grove further from the walking path to prevent visitors from physically reaching the stalks.