Puducherry government has agreed to host the first National Pythian Games after the six-member delegation led by the founder of the Modern Pythian Games and secretary general of the International Pythian Council, Bijender Goel, interacted with Chief Minister N Rangasamy on their two-day visit to the UT.

The delegation explored the potential collaboration with the government in organising the First National Pythian Games, National Pythian Award, and Disabled Cricket League in 2023 and 2024. With an expected participation of upto 10,000 people, these events aim to promote and revive Indian art forms and traditional games, and bring international recognition to Puducherry, said Goel.

The hosting will be a joint effort by the International Pythian, and non-profit organisations Delphic India Trust and the Pythian Council of India. In conjunction with the event, the International Millet Festival will be organised to showcase India's rich traditional foods, aligning with the United Nations' declaration of 2023 as the international year of millets.

The Modern Pythian Games aim to provide international branding for the state of Puducherry and generate revenue while simultaneously preserving and celebrating India's cultural heritage.  The delegation held meetings with Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs A Namassivayam, and Deputy Speaker Rajavelu.

Deputy secretary general of International Pythian Council S Siva Kumar, renowned artist and social worker Malathi Rajavelu, and former commissioner of commercial taxes M Rajshekar were the other members of the delegation.

A Ghazipur MP/MLA court, on May 17, acquitted incarcerated gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in a case of attempt to murder registered against him in 2009.

The former MLA from the Mau Sadar constituency was acquitted by the court over a lack of sufficient evidence.

Mukhtar was booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC in the case. He appeared before the Ghazipur MP/MLA court through video-conferencing from Banda jail.

According to Mukhtar Ansari’s lawyer Liaquat Ali, in 2009, Meer Hasan, a resident of Mohammadabad lodged a case alleging that one Sonu Yadav attacked him with an intent to murder.

The case was registered under Section 307 (attempt to murder) at the Mohammadabad police station. Later, police named Mukhtar as a co-accused in the case despite the fact that he was lodged in jail at the time of the incident.

It was suspected that Mukhtar had hatched the conspiracy of eliminating the complainant.

However, the main accused booked under Section 307 of IPC had already been acquitted owing to insufficient evidence against him in the case.

On May 17, additional sessions judge (MP-MLA) Durgesh Kumar pronounced the verdict in the case exonerating the gangster-turned-politician.

According to Additional District Government counsel (criminal) Neeraj Kumar Srivastava, during the trial, complainant Mir Hassan himself and prime witness Ramkrit Yadav had turned hostile to the vantage of Mukhtar Ansari.

Srivastav, however, said the acquittal will not lead to the release of Ansari as he is accused in several other cases and was also convicted in a case recently.

Although the Quad Leaders Summit has been postponed since President Biden will head back to the US for urgent Congressional meetings after attending the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is sticking to his earlier schedule.

After attending the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, he will head to Papua New Guinea and Australia for bilateral meetings.

Since President Biden has to head back to the US, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is likely to hold a bilateral meeting of all Quad leaders in Hiroshima (on the sidelines of the G7 Summit) as PM Modi, PM Kishida and President Biden will all be present there.

It is likely that they will arrive at a consensus for a later date for the Quad leaders Summit. Talks around fortifying their position in the Indo-Pacific are likely to be the core of the discussions, say sources.

Prime Minister Modi will head for the G7 Summit on May 19 and is expected to go to Papua New Guinea on May 21.

In Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, PM Modi will jointly host the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) with Prime Minister James Marape of Papua New Guinea on May 22. This will be the first ever visit of any Indian PM to the island nation.

FIPIC is a group of India and 14 Pacific Island countries which includes Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Samoa, Vanuatu, Niue, Federal States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, Palau, Nauru and Solomon Islands.

PM Modi will be in Sydney for a day on May 24 where he will have bilateral meetings with PM Albanese. He is also expected to interact with the Indian business community and the diaspora.

The West Bengal government has decided to upgrade the security cover of former Indian cricket team captain and ex-BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to the Z category.

The decision was taken following the expiry of the tenure of Y category security provided to Ganguly.

As per the new security arrangement, the former cricketer will have 8 to 10 police personnel guarding him .

Under the Y category security cover, Ganguly used to get three policemen from the Special Branch in his cordon and an equal number of law enforcers guarding his Behala residence.

In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Governor C V Ananda Bose and Trinamool Congress MP and national secretary Abhishek Banerjee get Z Plus security while ministers such as Firhad Hakim and Moloy Ghatak have been provided with Z category security.

BJP's West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar is also provided with Z Plus security cover along with CISF protection.

Elated with the party’s historic victory in Karnataka Assembly polls, suspended Muslim Congress MLA Irfan Ansari has announced to build the country’s largest Hanuman Temple in his Assembly Constituency, Jamtara.

According to Ansari, his faith in Lord Hanuman has increased after the party's thumping majority win in Karnataka polls. He visited the Hanuman temple immediately and expresses his gratitude. He believes that Lord Hanuman belongs to everyone.

Notably, Ansari along with two other Congress MLAs were suspended by the Congress for hatching a conspiracy to topple the JMM-led alliance Government in Jharkhand after being arrested with 50 lakh cash in their vehicle in Kolkata.

The interim government in Pakistan's Punjab province on  May 17  gave a 24-hour deadline to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief Imran Khan to handover '30 to 40' terrorists hiding at his Lahore residence or face stern action.

The police in March had stormed the Zaman Park residence of Khan to arrest him but strong resistance from his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, workers thwarted that plan.

Mir, who is the brother of known anchor Hamid Mir, asked Khan to take this ultimatum seriously as the law enforcement agencies have reserved the right to arrest the terrorists from his house.

Referring to the May 9 protesters as 'terrorists', Mir said the government was aware of their presence at Khan's Zaman Park residence as it had credible intelligence reports.

The arrest of 70-year-old Khan on May 9 by the paramilitary Rangers at the Islamabad High Court premises triggered violent protests by his supporters across Pakistan. For the first time in Pakistan's history, the protesters stormed the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and also torched the Corps Commander's house in Lahore.

Police put the death toll in violent clashes to 10 while Khan's party claims 40 of its workers lost their lives in the firing by security personnel.

Mir alleged that Khan has been targeting the military for over a year under a set plan.

The interim information minister said that the government has adopted a "zero tolerance policy" towards violence and interim Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has given a "free hand" to the Punjab Police to deal with "arsonists".

Britain's former prime minister Liz Truss on May 17   urged her successor Rishi Sunak to get tough with China on issues such as Taiwan, describing the democratic island as "an enduring rebuke to totalitarianism".

China considers self-ruled Taiwan to be its territory, to be taken one day by force if necessary and strongly opposes any formal engagement with the island, including by high-profile foreign political figures.

Truss, who is on a five-day visit to Taiwan, accused Sunak and other Western governments of "trying to cling on to the idea that we can cooperate with China on issues like climate change, as if there is nothing wrong".

Truss also called on Sunak to make good on his pledge during the Conservative leadership campaign last year to designate China a strategic "threat", and went on to say the West could not avoid another "Cold War" with Beijing.

Sunak has pushed back on the tough rhetoric against China that Truss deployed before and during her 49-day tenure at 10 Downing Street last year.

She was ousted after her radical economic policies crashed financial markets.

Since then, Truss -- who is still a sitting MP -- has been trying to rebuild her profile with a series of speeches overseas, including in Tokyo, Washington and Copenhagen.

The former leader has also faced accusations back home that she is indulging in irresponsible sabre-rattling in a bid to maintain her political relevance.

Canada must become the "best of friends" with South Korea, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told lawmakers in Seoul on May 17 , as the two countries seek to counter China's growing regional influence.

Trudeau is on his first official visit to South Korea, where he will meet President Yoon Suk Yeol.

He told lawmakers that unity was needed as the world was facing a moment of unprecedented uncertainty, with lingering consequences from the Covid-19 pandemic, rising living costs, and the "real and terrifying" effects of climate change and war.

Trudeau and Yoon are expected to discuss ways to deepen cooperation on supply chains, especially for critical minerals used in electric vehicle batteries, which Canada has reserves of and which are needed by South Korea's car manufacturers.

Canadian media outlets also reported on possible meetings between Trudeau and top executives from South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution.

The company and its partner, auto manufacturer Stellantis, halted construction work this week on a massive EV battery plant in Canada, saying Trudeau's government "has not delivered on what was agreed to".