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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday spoke to US Vice President JD Vance on the phone call and discussed ways to further deepen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership across key areas. During the phone call, he also congratulated Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance on the birth of their son and conveyed his best wishes to the family.

The Premier League 2026-27 season is looming on the horizon, and the various sides are quite active in the summer transfer market, and many eyes are set upon the 2024 champions, Liverpool. The side is being linked with some big names ahead of the new season as they look to bolster their squad. 

The much awaited trailer of Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups was released on Saturday evening. The trailer launch, that was held in Bengaluru’s AMB Kapali theatre, was attended by director Geetu Mohandas and her cast: Yash, Huma Qureshi, Nayanthara, Kiara Advani, Tara Sutaria, Rukmini Vasanat, Akshay Oberoi, Sudev Nair among others.

The government on Saturday allayed fears over the charges on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions for end users, stating that the transactions will not attract any extra charges for users and small merchants. The Finance Ministry also stated that the vast majority of transactions will also remain free for the merchants.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhia on Saturday ddressesed the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event in Prayagraj and said no one is bigger than youth of the country.

The US Senate has passed a bill to impose sweeping sanctions against Russia and procurers of its petroleum products, including India and China, claiming that such trade is helping Moscow fund its war against Ukraine. The bill was passed by the Senate by an overwhelming 86-11 vote. 

In a significant development, India on Friday formally identified 27 locations and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh on the official maps of the Survey of India, a move that comes amid repeated attempts by China to rename places in the border state. As per the official statement, the exercise was carried out in consultation with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and is intended to ensure accurate identification of these places and improve public awareness.

National award-winner Mohanlal shared an emotional note following the theatrical release of Thudakkam, which marks his daughter Vismaya Mohanlal’s acting debut. The veteran actor congratulated Vismaya and her co-star Aashish Joe Antony, while thanking audiences for the warmth they have shown towards the young actors.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced free tickets to selected sections for the upcoming two-Test World Test Championship series against India. The first Test will be played at the Galle International Cricket Stadium from August 15 to 19, while the second is scheduled at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo from August 23 to 27. Free entry will be available only through Gate 4 at Galle and Gates 3, 4, 5 and 7 at the SSC, with access restricted to the grass embankment areas.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday clarified that the Government of India had no involvement in former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent press briefing, stressing that the event was organised entirely by a private media entity. Addressing the weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government neither facilitated the event nor endorsed any of the views expressed during it, particularly those concerning Bangladesh’s current government. “The government had no role to play in what was an event by a private media entity, and…