NewsBytes

Armand “Mondo” Duplantis broke the pole vault world record for the 14th time on Monday, clearing 6.30 metres to capture his third world championship. Duplantis, who grew up in Louisiana but competes for his mother's native Sweden, easily won his 49th straight meet and fifth straight major title, including Olympics, then kept the crowd around for another drama-rich half-hour to watch him go for the record. He cleared his top height (20 feet, 8 inches) on his third and final try -- the bar still bouncing but not falling as he leaped off the mat and jumped into second-place finisher Emmanouil Karalis' arms to start the celebration. The 25-year-old first broke the record on Feb. 8, 2020, clearing 6.17 meters and knocking France's 2012 Olympic champion, Renaud Lavillenie, off the top spot.  Since then, Duplantis has improved upon the record by one centimetre every time, giving him more opportunities to pocket bonuses like the one he gets at this event.

A rare species of snake, last reported in 1936, was recently found trapped in a net in a village field near Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, officials said on Monday. The snake, identified as Oligodon kheriensis and commonly known as the Red Coral Kukri, was rescued by a forest department team and later released in the reserve's forest under the supervision of Deputy Director Manish Singh. Singh said the snake, known for its distinctive reddish-orange colour and sharp teeth, is non-venomous but extremely rare in India.  "This is a significant find, as the species was first sighted in Dudhwa nearly 89 years ago in 1936 and has since been reported only on rare occasions," he added. Forest officials said the reptile was spotted by villagers in the Mahof range of the reserve, who alerted naturalist Mohammad Qasim.

The United States and China reached a framework agreement to switch short-video app TikTok to US-controlled ownership that will be confirmed in a call between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, US officials said. TikTok faced being switched off in the US as soon as September 17 if Chinese owner ByteDance didn't agree to divest. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said it was possible the deadline could be extended to allow for the deal to be finalised. “We're not going to talk about the commercial terms of the deal. It's between two private parties, but the commercial terms have been agreed upon," Bessent told reporters at the conclusion of two days of talks that took place in Madrid. The US-China negotiations at the Spanish foreign ministry's baroque Palacio de Santa Cruz were the fourth round of talks in four months to address strained trade ties as well as TikTok’s looming divestiture deadline. Trump praised the TikTok deal on Monday.

From October 1, the Railway Ministry will allow only Aadhaar-authenticated users to book reserved general tickets through the IRCTC website or app during the first 15 minutes after booking opens for any train. Currently, this restriction applies only to Tatkal bookings. "With a view to ensure that the benefits of the reservation system reach the common end user and are not misused by unscrupulous elements, it has been decided that with effect from 1.10.2025, during the first 15 minutes of opening of general reservation, reserved general tickets can be booked through the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)/its app only by Aadhaar authenticated users," a ministry circular said on Monday. Ministry officials said that after 15 minutes, authorised ticket agents will be allowed to book online reservations.