FIFA President Gianni Infantino has announced that the governing body will discuss expanding the World Cup to 64 teams for the 2030 edition, following the already planned increase to 48 teams in 2026. Infantino believes a larger tournament encourages smaller nations and highlights the success of previous expansions, with the 2030 event already set to be hosted across six nations on three continents.
As the FIFA World Cup concludes, we give you a curated list of the most impressive Hindi and English shows from 2026 to fill the OTT void.
For the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the timing of Rath Yatra is a matter of scriptural injunction rather than convenience.
India's prominent table tennis player, Manika Batra, has been excluded from the national squad for the upcoming Asian Games due to her absence from domestic events, which impacted her national ranking. The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) cited adherence to its selection criteria, which prioritises both national and world rankings.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has made a historic return to the World Cup knockout stages, 52 years after a disastrous debut.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will lead a mass yoga session in New Delhi for the 12th International Day of Yoga, themed "Yoga for Healthy Ageing," joined by actor Akshay Kumar. The Sports Ministry is organising nationwide events with over 15,000 participants, highlighting yoga's global impact since its UN adoption in 2014.
Despite international crude oil prices falling to a four-month low, retail petrol and diesel prices in India are unlikely to be cut immediately because state-run refiners are still processing costlier crude purchased during the peak of the West Asia crisis, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said.
The study, covering audience trends across the three host nations, found that Lionel Messi's debut for Inter Miami CF in the 2023 Leagues Cup drove a 173% leap in linear viewership compared with the tournament average.
Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who was denied entry to the United States for the World Cup despite a valid visa, has been appointed to officiate the upcoming UEFA Super Cup match between Paris St Germain and Aston Villa. This appointment follows a cooperation agreement between UEFA and CAF.
The 5th Bonus Asia Cup Bridge Championships are set to begin in Goa, featuring nearly 300 players from 16 countries. Defending champions India will compete across various categories, facing strong contenders like Hong Kong and Indonesia. The event, described as the "Asian Games of bridge," highlights India's growing role in the sport.
Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia says FIFA's expanded 48-team World Cup format significantly improves India's chances of qualification while creating new opportunities for emerging football nations across Asia and beyond.
US cricket star Saurabh Netravalkar, who helped defeat Pakistan at the 2024 T20 World Cup while working as a software engineer, is now chasing an Olympic dream ahead of Los Angeles 2028.'
With Kylian Mbappe's depth and experience, economists predict France are tipped to edge Spain to lift World Cup.
The Strait of Hormuz crisis is impacting lifestyles worldwide, from reduced gold purchases in India to energy conservation in Europe and Japan, as governments urge citizens to adapt to the global energy shock.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that discussions aimed at halting the conflict with Iran have shown "some slight progress," while simultaneously echoing Washington's dissatisfaction with its NATO allies.
If Iran and Oman choose to charge a fee for rendering services to vessels using their territorial waters, so be it. The US is indulging in an irrationally self-destructive act, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Kolkata Knight Riders, owned by the Shah Rukh Khan family and Mehta Group, emerged as the most valuable franchise.
The Indian men's national football team will participate in the Unity Cup 2026, a four-nation friendly tournament held in London, marking their return to the UK for international matches after 24 years.
The United States' historical strategic alignment with Pakistan, dating back to the Cold War, has consistently aimed to create a political and military parity with India, despite India's significantly larger size and resources. This long-standing relationship continues to influence regional dynamics, particularly in West Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
He was childlike with a camera in his hands -- not nave, but wonderstruck, as though the world were always on the verge of delivering something unrepeatable. Pulitzer Prize nominee Namas Bhojani recalls his long association with Raghu Rai, the legendary photographer who passed into the ages on Sunday.
'Even if the war ends tomorrow, which is unlikely, and we go back to the pre-war status quo, the world will still need some time to get over the sudden shock of oil price increases.'
The final teams have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Find out which teams have qualified and their group stage assignments.
Amid growing international instability, folks all over the world are wondering if there is any country that can be considered a secure refuge, should this conflict expand into a larger war, drawing in many more nations.
Punjab Police is using intelligence-led policing and digital tools, including AI-powered voice recognition, to combat organised crime and dismantle gangster networks operating across states and continents.
A Russian intelligence agency has claimed that the UK and France are covertly planning to transfer nuclear weapons to Ukraine, alleging a violation of international law.
The intriguing bit is that Trump is likely to attend the talks in Islamabad this weekend -- if he does, it will be the clearest signal yet that the US is ready to exit the war with some sort of win to show, since he cannot afford to go for the talks and return empty-handed, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War
Billionaire David Blitzer, co-founder of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, is conducting due diligence on Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rajasthan Royals.
Paying tributes on the occasion of Language Martyrs Day, Stalin said, "a state that loved its language like its life, unitedly struggled against Hindi imposition; protested with the same intensity every time it was imposed."
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Wednesday confirmed India's bid to host the Asian Cup in 2031
A close associate of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar claims that Pawar was actively pursuing a merger of the two Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) factions before his death. The associate, Kiran Gujar, stated that Pawar had indicated the merger was imminent just days before a fatal plane crash.
Australia, despite missing key pacers, are overwhelming favorites against Ireland in their T20 World Cup opener.
'Our diplomacy should have been focused on preventing war and avoiding the inevitable disruptions it would cause, posing a real risk to India's growth story,' asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Sonia Gandhi has criticised the Modi government's silence on the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader, arguing it raises doubts about India's foreign policy direction and credibility.
The ICC, which is overseeing the coordination process, has remained in constant communication with Indian High Commissions in multiple cities across continents.
The pause gives the US time to breathe, to regroup, to move its expeditionary force into position without risk of interception along the way. It gives Iran nothing -- on the ground, attacks against its infrastructure continue apace. Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Findings of the first in-depth analysis of clinical and genomic characteristics of the Clade Ib strain, published in the journal Virology, showed seven of the 10 individuals had a history of travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Bajaj Auto is planning a slow, calibrated push to take the Chetak, its electric scooter, to more than 100 countries on the strength of its distributor network and market-specific localisation rather than an aggressive global rollout, reports Sohini Das.
Captured in powerful images and unforgettable moments, 2025 emerged as a turning point in global affairs. These images tell the defining stories that shaped the world across continents.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued his New Year's message for 2026 in Hindi, among other languages, urging world leaders to prioritize development over destruction. He highlighted the staggering scale of human suffering and the disproportionate global military spending.
